CTEBVI 2017 Program · 2017. 5. 9. · 4 58th Annual CTEBVI Conference 2017 From the President … O n behalf of the CTEBVI Board of Directors and Conference committee, welcome to

158th Annual CTEBVI Conference 2017

San FranciscoAirport Marriott Waterfront

March 9-12, 2017

Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB)

is more than an industry-leading

guide dog school; we are a

passionate community that

serves the visually impaired from

throughout the U.S. and Canada.

All of our services are provided

free of charge, including veterinary

assistance as needed.

2017 is a very special year for

GDB because it is our 75th

anniversary! Since 1942, our goals

have remained the same: to

increase independence, mobility,

and safety for our clients and we

have had the honor and privilege

of serving more than 14,000

clients during this time.

GDB is a resource for people to

get the proper referrals to O&M

training prior to acceptance into

our program so that when they

arrive, they are prepared for

success. Our goal is to help

understand their mobility options

and prepare for a partnership with

a guide dog.

We would like to partner with

you! Please visit our website at

guidedogs.com/OandM

to learn about our programs

designed for orientation and

mobility specialists, including:

• Guide Dog Lifestyle

Workshops

• O&M Seminars (qualifies for

continuing education credits)

HARNESSING

THE POWER OF

PARTNERSHIP

guidedogs.com


Welcome to the 2017

58th Annual Conference of

CALIFORNIA TRANSCRIBERS AND EDUCATORS

FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

From the President .............................................................................................................................. 4

General Conference Information ........................................................................................................... 5

Welcome Letter from Superintendent Tom Torlakson .......................................................................... 6

Conference Highlights ........................................................................................................................... 7

Thank You to Our Conference Game Changers .................................................................................... 12

Exhibitors ............................................................................................................................................ 14

Presenters: Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................................. 19

Workshops ........................................................................................................................................ 33

Conference All-Star Team Roster ........................................................................................................ 51

Hotel Map ............................................................................................................................. Back Cover

Of Special Interest to Parents and Families

Our conference has again extended a special welcome to parents and families with children who are blind or visually impaired by offering a No‐Charge Registra on to current mem‐bers. We hope you enjoy all the ac vi es and workshops provided especially for you.

Saturday, March 11, 2017: Youth Ins tute: Nothing About Us Without Us

Sessions from 9:00 am ‐ 3:00 pm; Social from 3:00 pm ‐ 4:00 pm

Exhibit Hall Here you will find a myriad of exhibitors offering the latest in assis ve technology, as well as educa onal toys and books. Please take advantage of this opportunity to learn all about the most up‐to‐date equipment available.

58th Annual CTEBVI Conference 2017 4

From the President …

O n behalf of the CTEBVI Board of Directors and Conference committee, welcome to our 58th annual conference. Our theme for this year is Level-ing the Playing Field. It is our hope that you will leave here with the

knowledge, skills and determination to encourage and elevate students with visual impairments to successfully meet each challenge, become self-advocates, and swing for the fences.

In order to reach these goals, it takes the dedication of everyone involved in mak-ing this conference possible that includes you, the attendee. We count on the feed-back we receive at the end of each conference to raise the bar for the next year. At last year’s conference, some of you expressed a desire to have shorter but no fewer workshops so that you don’t feel quite so rushed and that you are able to connect with your fellow attendees. We took those suggestions to heart and that is why many parts of this conference will focus on networking, advocacy and teamwork. With this in mind, we will be getting together for breakfast and general sessions, one hour workshops, and end the day in our Hospitality Suite. Instead of having the Hospitality Suite open during the day when people are on the go, we’ve decided to make it available at night so that you can come relax after a long day and enjoy each other’s company. That’s not all; we’ll still have our welcome reception, lunch, exhibitors’ reception, president’s reception, banquet, and wrap up the conference with our Sunday brunch. Also, the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) will start its spring meeting after our conference on Sunday at 1:00 pm. If you’re still around and you’d like to be an observer, come to the BANA booth and let them know. I hope you all have a great conference and remember to let us know what you think.

Cristin Lockwood President


On-Site Registration You may register at the Registration Desk. Please note that on-site registration is nonrefundable.

Check-in for pre-conference workshops only:

Thursday, March 9 8:00 am - 9:30 am

Regular conference registration:

Thursday, March 9 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Friday, March 10 6:30 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday, March 11 6:30 am - 5:00 pm

Continuing Education Units CEUs are again being offered with an ACVREP fee of $35, payable in advance with your registra-tion fee. This fee will allow you to earn CEUs for the workshops, keynote speakers, and general sessions held during the conference. Remember to sign-in and sign-out at each session. Certifi-cates will be mailed following the conference via e-mail.

Silent Auction All proceeds of the silent auction go to the Donna Coffee Youth Scholarship Fund. This event also provides you with the opportunity to take home some beautiful gifts.

Silent Auction items must be claimed and paid for by the end of the banquet unless other arrange-ments have been made. Items not claimed will be offered to the next highest bidder. GOOD LUCK!!!

Announcement Board at Registration Have an announcement or job opening? Please feel free to post it on the board that will be located near the Registration Desk.

Exhibit Hall Attendance is free to everyone. CTEBVI’s Exhibit Hall offers a large number of vendors presenting the latest in assistive technology, and really neat toys.

The Exhibit Hall will be open on:

Friday 9:30 am - 6:30 pm Saturday 9:30 am - 5:00 pm

Hospitality Suite - Meet the CTEBVI Board Wrap up your Friday and Saturday evenings with the CTEBVI board in a lovely setting overlooking San Francisco Bay. Have a drink and share your thoughts on the conference and our organization. Consider this your personal invitation! No-host bar and light refreshments will be provided.

San Ramon Room

Friday 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Saturday 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Social Media

GENERAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION

CALIFORNIA TRANSCRIBERS AND EDUCATORS FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

58th CONFERENCE San Francisco, California

April 9–12, 2017

Dear Friends:

I am honored to welcome you to the 58th annual conference of the California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired. This year’s conference, “Leveling the Playing Field,” will provide professional development opportunities for those working in the field of vision impairment, from directors of special education and teachers of the visually impaired to the paraprofessionals who work to enhance the lives of our blind and visually impaired students. You have implemented the new Unified English Braille code, ensuring access to instructional materials as well as computer-based assessments. By attending this unique conference, you are demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to educating those who use assistive technology to support life-long learning.

It is critical that students are exposed to the technology that will lead to academic success, preparing them to pursue their careers, participate in the rich cultural life of our state, engage in civic responsibilities, and compete in our global economy. Professionals and parents will be able to better serve visually impaired students by taking advantage of the workshops, keynote speakers, and networking available at this conference. I would also like to welcome students to the Youth Institute, utilizing mentors in a day of interactive mini-sessions designed to guide you toward independent successful futures.

Please accept my appreciation and thanks for your professional contributions in serving our blind and visually impaired students. To the parents and students in attendance, thank you for participating and sharing your experiences to improve and increase opportunities for other families. This team approach leads to success, from which we all will benefit. My sincere gratitude for all your efforts and commitment to the success of our students.

Sincerely,

Tom Torlakson State Superintendent of Public Instruction

TT:jps


Thursday, March 9th PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS Pre-registration is required. Check-in is 8:00 am - 9:00 am.

1. APH BRAILLEBLASTER:AN INNOVATIVE NEW BRAILLE TRANSLATION SOFTWARE Presenters: Jayma Hawkins and William Freeman Time: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Location: Salon G-H BrailleBlaster is a revolutionary program that brings braille transcription into the 21st century. Using the data embed-ded in NIMAS files, BrailleBlaster does most of the work as soon as the file is opened. It then has all the tools you need to be efficient!

2. MAKING GOOGLE APPLICATIONS ACCESSIBLEWITH JAWS: DRIVE, DOCS, GMAIL AND CLASSROOM Presenters: Veronica Gunn, Yurika Vu, and Joe Vona Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm (Includes break for lunch on your own) Location: Bayside I Join the CSB Assistive Technology Team for a day of all things Google. This workshop will be a hands-on training where all participants will learn to use Drive, Docs, Gmail, and Classroom with JAWS. Many schools throughout Cali-fornia, including CSB, are using Google Education. Come learn how your students with visual impairments can partic-ipate in this exciting technology. CTEBVI will provide Wi-Fi for all participants during this workshop. This workshop is limited to 50 participants.

3. Getting the Ball Rolling: A presentation and opendiscussion regarding issues within the field of visual impairments, and beginning the revision of the VI guidelines and braille reading and math content stand-ards Presenters: Dr. Sharon Sacks with Adrian Amandi, Angela Martyn and Gina Ouelette Time: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Location: Bayside I Join administrative staff from the California School for the Blind in an open discussion regarding some of the issues currently present in our field. We will lead a discussion re-garding assessment practices, service recommendations, caseload analysis, and more. While we plan to share best practices throughout the day we want to create an open dialogue as well where input from the field is being taken into consideration in the important revisions under way with the guidelines and braille and math standards. Additionally, we will share and seek advice on improving CSB’s pro-grams and ways to meet the needs of students throughout the state.

4. Tour of the LightHouse for the BlindTime: 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Cost: Free Location: Hotel Lobby Main Entrance, meet at 1:00 pm

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Welcome Reception 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Huddle up with your fellow attendees to plan your attack of the complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a no-host bar. Then team up to run some plays across the dance floor to the invigorating beat of Wayne Siligo and the Cheeseballs featuring MVP Ilan Ota.

sponsored by: TRANSCRIBING MARINERS

Quality Braille and Large Print

www.tmbraille.com


Friday, March 10th BREAKFAST 7:30 am - 8:30 am SALON F Calling all registered members! Get your day on the right track with this complimentary meal.

GENERAL SESSION I AND GUEST SPEAKERS 8:30 am - 9:30 am SALON F After breakfast, don’t leave your seats!

EXHIBIT HALL/SILENT AUCTION 9:30 am - 6:30 pm Drop by the Exhibit Hall to browse the vendors and see all the donated Silent Auction items.

NETWORKING LUNCHEON 12:15 pm - 1:45 pm SALON F Take a break to refuel. Catch up with old friends or make a new acquaintance. Compare notes on what you’ve seen and heard this morning.

EXHIBITORS’ RECEPTION 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm EXHIBIT HALL Take this dedicated time to visit with the exhibitors, ask questions about their products, get demonstrations and indulge in some delicious hors d'oeuvres. No Host bar. Don’t miss out on a chance to check out the Silent Auction items.

HOSPITALITY SUITE 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm SAN RAMON Get together with the team to review the day and get the playbook for tomorrow. Light snacks and beverages will be provided with a no-host bar.

Saturday, March 11th BREAKFAST 7:30 am - 8:30 am SALON F Calling all registered members! Get your day on the right track with this complimentary meal.

GENERAL SESSION II AND GUEST SPEAKERS 8:30 am - 9:30 am SALON F

EXHIBIT HALL 9:30 am – 5:00 pm Drop by the Exhibit Hall to browse the vendors and see all the donated Silent Auction items.

THE SILENT AUCTION - LAST CHANCE! This is the last chance to get your bids in before 4:30 pm so you don’t miss out on some enticing deals! You can also visit the Exhibit Hall. Browse the booths, talk with ex-hibitors, see demonstrations on the latest assistive technol-ogy, play with the toys, and more!

PRESIDENT’S RECEPTION 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm SALON F FOYER Entertainment provided by: Wayne Siligo and the Cheeseballs featuring Ilan Ota Meet your CTEBVI President, Cristin Lockwood. Socialize and relax with your fellow conference attendees after an intense day of fun and informative workshops. Unwind, relax and enjoy! There will be a No-host bar.

HOSPITALITY SUITE 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm SAN RAMON Keep the conversation going! Light snacks and beverages will be provided with a no-host bar.

BANQUET, SATURDAY 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, SALON F Get ready for a wonderful evening of good food, and good company. Everyone is invited to attend whether or not you are registered for the meal. Separate seating will be provided for non-dining attendees. The Keynote speaker will be David Lepofsky.

David graduated in 1979 with honours from Osgoode Hall Law School with a Bachelor of Laws and obtained a Masters of Law from the Harvard Law School in 1982. He is a visiting professor (part-time) at the Osgoode Hall Law School and an adjunct member of the

University of Toronto Faculty of Law. His career as counsel in the Crown Law Office Civil and Criminal conduct-ing civil, administrative, and constitutional litigation, in addition to criminal appeals in the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, spanned 30 years. He retired from his position with the Ontario Public Service at the end of 2015.

As a disability rights advocate, David is chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance and a founding member and co-chair of Barrier-Free Canada, a community coalition that advocates for the enactment of a national Canadians with Disabilities Act. In January 2016, he became chair of the Toronto District School Board’s Special Education Advisory Committee. This legally-mandatory committee advises the Toronto District School.


Solutions for People with Visual Impairments

Phone: 818-893-5887; Fax: 818-698-8199

Web: www.sweetmansystems.com

Email: [email protected]

In Southern California, we provide system integration, product installation, and customized configuration services for a wide range of adaptive hard-ware and software. We also provide training which is tailored to meet the needs of the user.

· Note Takers: BrailleNote Touch, BrailleNote Apex, and Braille Sense.(Free training session with purchase of notetakers!)

· Digital Player/Recorders: Victor Reader Stream, Blaze ET and EZ, andPlextalk Pocket

· Computer Systems: Desktop and laptop computers

· Reading Systems and Software: Open Book and Kurzweil 1000· Global Positioning Systems: Sendero GPS for BrailleNote Apex and

BrailleSense, and Trekker Breeze · Refreshable Braille Displays: Focus 80, Focus 40, Focus 14, Brailliant,

Braille Edge, Smart Beetle · Screen Access Software: JAWS

· Braille Embossers

· Braille Translation Software: Duxbury Braille Translator

· Large Print Software: MAGic

· Video Magnifiers from Humanware, HIMS, and Freedom Scientific

· Training and worksite evaluations


Sunday, March 12th WRAP UP FORUM: THE BALL’S IN YOUR COURT How will you put it into play? Moderators: Mary Nelle McLennan and Jonn Paris-Salb 8:00 am - 9:30 am SAN RAMON What have you learned at conference and how and what will you put into play. How should information be shared with colleagues? What would attendees like to see added to the program in 2018? Be a part of the game plan next year in Los Angeles!

COMPLIMENTARY SUNDAY BRUNCH, AUDIOJACK DEMONSTRATION & IPAD DRAWING!!! 9:30 am - 11:30 am SALON F Our Conference concludes with a Complimentary Buffet Brunch (must be pre-registered to eat) and will include General Business Session, III.

While your mouth is occupied, sharpen your listening skills with a demonstration from David Tobin of Audiojack. Audiojack is an audio based movie that uses sound design to tell a story. There is no video, no use of music or dia-logue. Hundreds of sound effects are layered together to activate the listener’s own imagination. Each Audiojack has a specific story, which is never revealed to ensure that there is no wrong answer. It’s up to the listeners to decide what their story will become.

Pre-register for the brunch and not only do you get to enjoy a FREE meal, but you will receive a ticket for a FREE chance to win our drawing.

Transcribing Mariners of Au-burn, CA, has generously donat-ed an iPad Mini that will go home with the lucky winner. You must be present to win.

Everyone is invited to attend the meeting whether or not you are registered for the meal. Separate seating will be provided for non-dining attendees.

HOTEL CHECK-OUT 12:00 Noon Let the hotel know if you’ll need a later check-out time.

FROM

BEYOND

THE Learning From

Men and Women in Prison Braille Programs

Across the Country

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND Beyond the Walls Workshops!

Beyond the Walls is a program idea from John Romeo. John is passionate about braille and the rehabilitative qualities the vocation provides offenders who partici-pate in prison braille programs across the nation. John wanted a way to showcase the wonderfully immense knowledge base inside the prison programs for the greater good of the braille community. He envisioned a program where prison braille programs could create professional-quality, expert presentations for the CTEB-VI conference.

At last year’s CTEBVI conference in Los Angeles, we brought that vision to life and hosted three BTW work-shops, including one that was telecast live into the con-ference directly from the prison program. The work-shops were packed and the response from attendees was overwhelmingly positive so we brought the pro-gram back this year to San Francisco.

We proudly present workshops 101, 201, and 403 as part of our second annual Beyond the Walls program. Workshops 101 and 404 will be telecasted live into the conference and the men and women in these prison braille programs will be personally presenting the mate-rials they have prepared. Please be aware that in the course of the workshops you will see and be seen by the offenders in the program.


The CTEBVI board would like to extend a special thanks to you who make up our All‐Star support team. Your excep onal skills and generosity are a labor of love and make this conference possible. You truly are game changers. THANK YOU!

Volunteered/Donated Time/Services Sharon Anderson for being our Treasurer and keeping track The California School for the Blind, APH and The LightHouse for the Blind for kicking off our conference with pre‐conference workshops and a tour American Thermoform for dona ng braille paper Judi Biller and Sue Reilly, the Dynamic Duo, with Karen Tomlinson and Anne Ward for their hard work making

sure this Conference is packed with interes ng and relevant workshops David Forrest for making sure our Audio/Visual works smoothly Kyejune Lee for being David’s shadow Tracy Gaines for transcribing the conference program Dawn Gross for running our Silent Auc on Vicki Garre our Conference Registrar and Website Administrator Bonnie Grimm and Jenny Tsimogiannis for coordina ng the Exhibits Hall and all things vendor Olivia Hogue for her endless volunteer work with the Exhibits Hall and Silent Auc on Sarah Holmes for taking me off from school to come be our Girl Friday Grant Horrocks for being “The Conference Guy” Alfredo Lima for his invaluable assistance in the Exhibit Hall and everywhere else we need him Linda McGovern and Vanessa Stenz for coordina ng the Registra on Desk and volunteers, and thanks to all

the volunteers Lisa Okikawa for being our Guidebook leader, Facebook keeper and ever‐present Tweeter Omi Ota for crea ng our gorgeous centerpieces Jonn Paris‐Salb for crea ng all the signage for the workshops, monitor packets, CEU credits and “Youth Ins tute: Nothing About Us Without Us” Cath Tendler‐Valencia for her proofreading the program and registra on packet – all in record me Transcribing Mariners for dona ng the iPad mini for the Sunday drawing, sponsoring the Welcome Recep on

and embossing our braille materials Joanie Treptow for making large print copies of the program Alex Tsimogiannis for volunteering his me to put together the Exhibits Hall layout And a big THANKS to all this year’s Exhibitors for bringing us the latest in assis ve technology and other cool

stuff and for suppor ng CTEBVI through their program adver sing and finally a big THANKS to all of our amazing workshop presenters for crea ng the heart of our conference

Speakers and Musical Entertainment David Lepofsky, Keynote Speaker David Tobin of Audiojack, Ilan Ota, Wayne Siligo and the Cheeseballs Symposium moderator and all of our Symposium speakers

And a special thanks to the team of Cris n Lockwood, our CTEBVI President and Tracy Gaines, Immediate Past‐President for working together on the conference program prepara on and layout


Youth Institute Nothing About Us Without Us

At this 58th Annual CTEBVI Conference

Co-sponsored by the San Francisco LightHouse

Saturday, March 11 Sessions from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Social from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Advocacy In Action

Mentor Spotlight

AT & Beyond

Transition Resources

Independence and Leisure

All sessions will be interactive, facilitated by youth who are BVI

Free lunch and AT raffle drawing

Registration at http://www.ctebvi.org/institute.html


A & E Low Vision 582 Firenza Street, Livermore, CA 94551 Phone: 408-738-1716 Website: www.aelowvision.com Contact: Edward Long

Access Ingenuity 4751 Hoen Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 Phone: 707-579-4380 Website: www.accessingenuity.com Contact: Michael Parker [email protected]

Alternate Text Production Center 198 Camino Ruiz, Camarillo, CA 93012 Phone: 805-383-1700 Website: www.atpc.net Contact: Dawn Gross [email protected]

American Foundation for the Blind 2 Penn Plaza, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10121 Phone: 212-502-7600 Website: www.afb.org Contact: Anne Durham [email protected]

American Printing House for the Blind 1839 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206 Phone: 800-223-1839 Website: www.aph.org Contact: Cindy Amback

[email protected]

American Thermoform Corporation 1758 Brackett Street, La Verne, CA 91750 Phone: 909-593-6711 Website: www.americanthermoform.com Contact: Patrick Nunnelly [email protected]

Audiojack 11101 Aqua Vista #110, Studio City, CA 91602 Phone: 323-333-0347 Website: www.audiojack.com Contact: David Tobin

[email protected]

BAUM (USA), Inc. 13 Branch Street, Suite 205, Methuen, MA 01844 Phone: 855-620-7985 Website: www.baumusa.com Contact: Renee Clark

[email protected]

Blind Color Nation 380 South Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101 Phone: 800-253-4290 Website: www.blindcolornation.com Contact: Lee Ann Fleming [email protected]

Braille Authority of North America C/O 401 Sanibelle Circle #8, Chula Vista, CA 91910 Website: www.brailleauthority.org Contact: Sue Reilly [email protected]

Braille Institute National Programs 741 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029 Phone: 323-906-3137 Website: www.brailleinstitute.org Contact: Sergio Oliva

[email protected]

Braille Jymico 4545 1st Avenue, Quebec, Canada G1H 2S8 Phone: 877-272-4553 Website: www.braillejymico.com Contact: Anne-Julie Thibeault

[email protected]

CTEBVI 2017 LIST OF EXHIBITORS


California Braille and Talking Book Library P.O. Box 942837, 900 N Street, Sacramento, CA 94237 Phone: 800-952-5666 Website: www.btbl.ca.gov Contact: Mary Jane Kayes [email protected] California School for the Blind 500 Walnut Avenue, Fremont, CA 94544 Phone: 510-794-3800 Website: www.csb-cde.ca.gov Contact: Ann Wusstig [email protected]

CAPVI California Assoc. for Parents of Children with Visual Impairment 414 West Mill Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 Phone: 707-463-2296 Website: www.capvi.org Contact: Anne Ward

[email protected]

CTEBVI Silent Auction Contact: Dawn Gross

Dancing Dots Braille Music Technology 1754 Quarry Lane, Suite DD, Phoenixville, PA 19460 Phone: 610-783-6692 Website: www.dancingdots.com Contact: Bill McCann

[email protected] Facebook: www.facebook.com/DancingDotsMusic Twitter: www.twitter.com/DancingDotsTech

Department of Rehabilitation Blind Field Services 721 Capital Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 510-622-2930 Website: www.dor.ca.gov Contact: Patricia Leetz

[email protected]

ACCESS INGENUITYASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

• Try Before Your Buy!(Demo and Loan Program)

• Distance Viewing Solutionswith Scanning!

• Handheld CCTVs• Braille Displays and Screen

Readers!

ACCESS INGENUITY 877-579-4380

www.accessingenuity.com

Ask for Ian, Vinay or Michael

Cristin

Line


Duxbury Systems, Inc. 270 Littleton Road, Unit #6, Westford, MA 01886 Phone: 978-692-3000 Website: www.duxsys.com Contact: Neal Kuniansky [email protected]

Enhanced Vision Low Vision Solutions 5882 Machine Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Phone: 800-440-9476 Website: www.enhancedvision.com Contact: Ned Long

[email protected]

Eschenbach Optik 22 Shelter Rock Lane, Danbury, CT 06810 Phone: 800-487-5389 Website: www.eschenbach.com Contact: Jay Sanders

[email protected]

Exceptional Teaching, Inc. PO Box 2330, Livermore, CA 94550 Phone: 800-549-6999 Website: www.exceptionalteaching.com Contact: Helene Holman

[email protected]

Guide Dogs for the Blind Outreach, Admissions, and Alumni 350 Los Ranchitos Road, San Rafael, CA 94903 Phone: 800-295-4050 Website: www.guidedogs.com Contact: Jane Flower [email protected]

HIMS 4616 W. Howard Lane Suite 960, Austin, TX 78728 Phone: 512-837-2000 Website: www.hims-inc.com Contact: Laura Hauk [email protected]

HumanWare USA, Inc. 1 UPS Way, PO Box 800, Champlain, NY 12919 Phone: 800-722-3393 Website: www.humanware.com Contact: Francine Callaghan [email protected]

Irie-AT, Inc. 1750 SW 3rd Street, Suite C, Corvallis, OR 97333 Phone: 888-308-0059 Website: www.irie-at.com Contact: John Taylor

[email protected]

Junior Blind of America 5300 Angeles Vista Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90043 Phone: 510-234-4984 Website: www.juniorblind.org Contact: Patti Maffei [email protected]

LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired 1155 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 Phone: 415-694-7371 Website: www.lighthouse-sf.org Contact: Scott Blanks [email protected]

Lucky Touch Fortune Cookie California School for the Blind 500 Walnut Avenue, Fremont, CA 94536 Phone: 510-459-4396 Contact: Judith Lesner

National Braille Press 88 Saint Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115 Phone: 617-425-2429 Website: www.nbp.org Contact: Tony Grima [email protected]


NorthState Assistive Technology PO Box 2112, Paradise, CA 95967 Phone: 877-682-0452 Website: www.northstateat.com Contact: Cory Hanosh

[email protected]

OHFA Tech., Inc. taptilo, Customer Service Center 41855 Mitchell Road. Novi MI 48377 USA Phone: 1-888-278-4565 Website: www.taptilo.com Contact: Insoo Jeong [email protected]

Playopolis Toys, Inc. 667 West California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105 Phone: 626-792-2380 Website: www.playopolistoys.com Contact: Christina Wallerstein [email protected]

Society for the Blind Careers PLUS Transitional Youth 1238 South Street, Sacramento, CA 95811 Phone: 916-889-7518 Contact: Gregory DeWall

[email protected]

Sonja Biggs Educational Services, Inc. Visually Impaired Program 7483 Dornoch Court, Gilroy, CA 95020 Phone: 650-833-9766 Website: www.sbesinc.com Contact: Sonja Biggs

[email protected]

SPEL Technologies, Inc. 2885 Sanford Avenue SW 33232, Grandville, MI 49918 Phone: 408-502-7234 Contact: Radhika Grover

[email protected]

Helping children, youth and adults reach their greatest potentialthrough state-wide programs that are

To learn more, visit our CTEBVI exhibit table or visit us online at www.juniorblind.org.

EducationalRecreational

RehabilitativeResidential


Sterling Adaptives 62A Brookwood Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Phone: 415-878-2922 Website: www.sterlingadaptives.com Contact: Mark Gibbons

[email protected]

Sweetman Systems 14237 Gain Street, Arleta, CA 91331 Phone: 818-893-5887 Website: www.sweetmansystems.com Contact: Sue Sweetman

[email protected]

The Seeing Eye, Inc. P.O. Box 375, Morristown, NJ 07963 Phone: 800-539-4425 Website: www.seeingeye.org Contact: Chelsea White [email protected]

ViewPlus Technologies 1965 SW Airport Avenue, Corvallis, OR 97333 Phone: 541-754-4002 Contact: Dan Gardner

[email protected]

Wolf Products, Inc. 106 Purvis Road, Butler, PA 16001 Phone: 724-285-5428 Website: www.mathwindow.com Contact: Roger & Paula Wolf [email protected]

YesAccessible! 911 Norumbega Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016 Phone: 626-358-5750 Website: www.yesaccessible.com Contact: David and Gayle Pinto [email protected]

Do you need braille or large print books for your school or district and don’t know where to start? Are you overwhelmed with transcribing daily worksheets for your braille student? Transcribing Mariners has affordable solutions!

Located in Auburn, California, Transcribing Mariners has provided textbooks in accessible formats for hundreds of school districts, state departments of education, and other organizations across the nation.

Let us help you solve your next braille or large print challenge! Contact our expert staff and we’ll help you determine your best options.

(530) 823-2209 · [email protected]

TRANSCRIBING MARINERS BRAILLE, LARGE PRINT AND TACTILE GRAPHICS


Justin Adams Madera County Office of Education, TVI Justin is in his second year teaching students with visual impair-ments. He has been an educator in both elementary and secondary classrooms for the past 12 years.

Nancy Aguilera University of California, Merced, Third Year College Student Nancy E. Aguilera was born in Los Angeles, California. Since birth, she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which is a degenerative disease of the retina. She joined Survive or Thrive to help others gain necessary self-advocacy skills to help them thrive, and not just simply survive. She graduated from Narbonne High School with honors, and she attended California State University, Dominguez Hills for two-and-a-half years. Get-ting married and becoming a mom was such a profound life changing experience for her; she put her abilities to the test, and learned how strong and determined she truly was. Additionally, she was vice president of the School Site Council during the 2013-2014 school year at Valerio Elementary. Recently, she began attending the University of California, Merced as a third year college student with an intended major in psychology.

Adrian Amandi California School for the Blind, Administrator and TVI California Education Resource Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Director Adrian Amandi has been at the California

School for the Blind since 2005. He spent ten years on the assistive technology team and is currently the Director of the California Education Resource Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, leading a team of education specialists to provide outreach to students and their educational teams throughout the state. Adrian works directly with organizations within our field throughout California and the country. He has an active role within the Principals of Schools for the Blind and Assistive Technology Forum groups.

Karen Arcos, University of California, Irvine, Ph.D. Student Karen Arcos is a doctoral student in Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests include investigating neuroplasticity’s impact on blind individuals’ occipital cortex—the brain area typically associated with vision. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Psychology and a Spanish minor in 2015. Karen is also a totally blind braille reader and white cane user. You can find her volunteering at Blind Children's Center during her free time. As an alumna and junior mentor there, she has experience working with children whose disabilities include blindness and intelligence. Karen

co-founded Survive or Thrive because she feels that parents and students need guidance about possibilities after high school and need to learn from the experiences of others with disabili-ties. Throughout her high school education, she was in two worlds: one was very supportive in encouraging her to pursue her degree at a four-year university, while the other thought do-ing so was too difficult. She, personally, would like to change what people with disabilities expect of themselves and what society expects of them.

Lupe Arellano Foothill SELPA, TVI Lupe Arellano, M.A., has been in the field of visually impairments for 12 years. She is currently an itinerant teacher for visually impaired at the Foothill SELPA, in Glendale, CA and serves on the board

of the California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI). She also works with Therapeutic Living Centers for the Blind (TLC) as a consultant for their day and residential services programs. Lupe has as also worked at Junior Blind of America (JBA) providing in-home services for children ages 0-3 with visually impairments and multiple disabilities and at the Academy of Music for the Blind (AMB) assisting students in areas such as dance, braille skills, and daily living skills, among other program activities.

Debbie Bacon LightHouse for the Blind, Rehabilitation CounselorDebbie Bacon has worked in the field of Education for 20 years with mainstream and special education students. She continues her support of blind and low vision students who seek training in real world work environments. She holds a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Services and has been working as a Rehabilita-tion Counselor, MS/QRP, at the San Francisco LightHouse for five years.

Maurice Belote, M.A., Special Education Cal i fornia Deafbl ind Services/ San Francisco State University, Project Coordinator Maurice Belote has 34 years experience teaching children who are deafblind and providing technical assistance to families,

schools, and public and private agencies. He currently serves as Project Coordinator for California Deafblind Services, the statewide, federally funded technical assistance and training project specific to deafblindness. He is also serving his first term as Co-Chair of the National Coalition on Deafblindness and is active in numerous national initiatives to improve services to children and youth who are deafblind. He is inspired everyday by the courage, resilience and determination of the students he serves.

PRESENTERS: CURRICULUM VITAE


Julie Bernas-Pierce, M.Ed./VI Credential Blind Babies Foundation, A Program of Junior Blind, Pro-gram Director Julie Bernas-Pierce holds a Masters' Degree and California credential in special education/vision impairment and has spent over 40 years as a Program Director at Blind Babies Foundation and TVI with Mid-Alameda County SELPA.

Delores Billman, Certified Braille Transcriber - Literary and Nemeth Texas Department of Criminal Justice Mountain View Braille, Program Specialist III Delores Billman is the Plant Manager in the Mountain View Braille Facility. She has both Literary and Nemeth Certifications. She has worked in the correction field for 40 years. She was just recognized for her commitment to Prison Braille at the American Printing House for the Blind Prison Braille Conference. She has been studying braille and teaching for approximately 20 years at the Mountain View Braille Facility.

Patricia Camarillo Fresno Unified School District, TVI Patricia Camarillo stumbled upon the field of visual impairment during her first year teaching and has never looked back. Patricia has been teaching in the field of visual impairment for ten years and is currently an itinerant teacher of the visually

impaired in the Fresno Unified School District and previously taught the districts SDC-VI class for one year. Prior to working with Fresno Unified she worked with the Fresno County Office of Education for nine years. Patricia recently earned a master’s degree in Special Education in 2016 and an added authorization in Early Childhood Special Education in 2015 from Fresno Pacific University. She obtained an Education Specialist in Visual Impairment credential from San Francisco State Universi-ty’s distance education program in 2010. Patricia also received a Multiple Subjects teaching credential in 2005 and a Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies from CSU, Fresno in 2003.

Michael Cheverie Los Angeles Unified School District, TVI Michael Cheverie has been teaching for over 35 years in the Los Angeles area and for over 20 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He began his teaching career as a teacher of Advanced Placement Physics and Calculus at Fairfax High School in West Hollywood. Later, he became the Coordina-tor of the California Demonstration Center of Mathematics location at Pacoima Middle School in the San Fernando Valley, as well as chair of the mathematics department at Pacoima Middle School. Mr. Cheverie's experience also includes private educational consulting, including work as a traveling teacher with the actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. He now teach-es blind and low-vision students at the Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences in Granada Hills, CA.

Mason Chow Mason Chow has been an Alternate For-mat Specialist since 2015. She was in the printing industry for over ten years specializing in media in print and digital form.

Ralph Cioffi, M.A., Orientation & Mo-bility, M.A., Elementary Education Retired O&M Specialist/TVIRalph Cioffi is currently dually creden-tialed as both an Orientation & Mobility Specialist and TVI. He serves as the O&M Specialist for CTEBVI. Previous to his retirement, he worked for a public

school district for 24 years where his experiences ranged from providing service to O&M/VI students in Early Start and pre-school programs, along with working with students at the elementary and high school level. Prior to his work for PUSD, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga; taught kindergarten for several years in the South Bronx, New York City; and was adjunct faculty at Mt. St. Mary’s College (1993-2009). During that time, he was also Director of the Hilton-Perkins Grant Program at Mt. St. Mary’s College (1997-2003) which acculturated students going into helping professions to the issues of blindness and visual impairment. Cioffi is a graduate of the O&M Masters program at Cal State Los Angeles and holds a Masters degree from Antioch College in Elementary Education.

Gabrielle Cohen California School for the Blind, Assess-ment Team Member, TVI and O&M Gabrielle Cohen has been a teacher of the visually impaired and orientation and mobility specialist for over 20 years, most of those years spent as a member of the Assessment

Center at the California School for the Blind in Fremont, CA.

Taylor Cox Dwyer Middle School, Student Taylor Cox is an 8th grade braille student in Huntington Beach. She uses many pieces of technology throughout her school day. Her hobbies include learning new technology, music, and jujitsu. She’s looking forward to transitioning to high

school next year.

Jon Crawley, Certified Braille Transcriber - Literary, For-mats, and Nemeth Transcriber, Transcribing Mariners Jon Crawley is a Nemeth, Literary, and Formats certified transcriber.


Randy Davis, Certified Braille Tran-scriber – UEB, Formats, Nemeth and Proofreading AMAC, Georgia Tech Randy is currently a braille specialist with AMAC of Georgia Tech in Atlanta where he is certified in UEB, Formats, Nemeth,

and Proofreading. Randy’s passion and enthusiasm for braille for over 10 years has led to exciting adventures and is currently: a training coordinator for two prison braille programs, a National Library Service grader, on the NBA Educator’s and Transcriber’s committee as well as the BANA Braille Formats committee.

Diana Dennis Azusa Unified School District, TVI Diana Dennis has served as an Early Childhood Special Educa-tor, Vision Impairment Specialist, Program Director and TVI during her career in the field of early childhood and special education. She is currently teaching an early intervention series as part of coursework at Cal State, L.A., Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments with Azusa Unified School District.

Greg DeWall Society for the Blind, Orientation & Mobility Instructor Greg DeWall has been an instructor at the Society for the Blind in Sacramento since 2010. Greg holds a bronze medal in Judo at the Paralympics level. Greg is dedicated to assisting and fostering the independence and growth of all his clients. Greg also oversees Community and Recreation offerings at the Society for the Blind.

Gaeir Dietrich High Tech Center Training Unit (HTCTU), Director Gaeir Dietrich is the director of the High Tech Center Training Unit (HTCTU) of the California community colleges, and the system-wide trainer for Section 508 compliance. Gaeir has served on the

advisory boards for AHEAD, Bookshare, DIAGRAM Center, the Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC), and the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center (SVILC). In 2010-2011, she served as the chair for the national Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) in Postsecondary Education. She is a contributing author to Beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act, published by NASPA.

Faith Dunham-Sims, M.A., Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist The Hatlen Center for the Blind, Job Readiness Program Instructor Prior to joining The Hatlen Center team in 2011, Faith Dunham-Sims taught for over ten years in a public school setting and with adult learners in the private sector.

Faith serves as a Master Teacher for the SFSU Orientation and

Mobility Teacher Preparation Program and is the Internship Su-pervisor for that program. She is ACVREP certified, and served two terms as a nationally appointed member of the Orientation and Mobility Subject Matter Expert Committee for ACVREP. Faith was instrumental in developing The Hatlen Center Job Readiness Program, running weekly small group classes and facilitating the placement of some students in paid part-time volunteer opportunities in the community. Faith has a Master’s degree in Special Education and a Rehabilitative Services Credential in Orientation and Mobility from San Francisco State University.

Leslie Edmonds Sonoma County Office of Education, Assistive Technology Professional, TVI Leslie Edmonds has been a Teacher of the Visually Impaired for 11 years and an Assistive Technology Professional for two years. Leslie works with students ages 3-22.

BJ Epstein LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Project Manager, MAD Lab BJ Dietz Epstein has been an accessibility consultant for over ten years and brings that experience to her work in the MAD Lab at the LightHouse for the Blind. BJ designs and creates tactile and audio-tactile maps and graphics for the MAD Lab. Her design work on the Accessible BART Station Maps recently won a 2016 MTC Excellence in Motion Award for improving mobility for blind and visually impaired transit riders. She is also passionate about tactile literacy training and wants to teach everyone to read the Language of Lines.

Rachel Feinberg The Hatlen Center for the Blind, Assistive Technology and Braille InstructorRachel Feinberg graduated from The Hatlen Center in 2011, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling from Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Rachel received her A+ certification in computers in 2014 and enjoys tinkering with, building, and troubleshooting computers. Rachel specializes in teaching internet research skills, use of MS Office products, and a variety of screen readers.

Tony Fletcher, M.A., Special Educa-tion with emphasis in Orientation & Mobility LightHouse for the Blind, Enchanted Hills Camp and Retreat, Director Tony Fletcher current works at the Light-House for the Blind in San Francisco. He has served in many roles with the

agency beginning with the Youth Coordinator position in 1989. His role as Enchanted Hills Camp Director began in 1998. He received both Liberal Arts B.A. and Special Education M.A. at San Francisco State University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, two children and best pals Jimmy and Nicholas.


Richie Flores, Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Youth Services Coordinator Richie Flores hails from the great state of Texas. Retinoblasto-ma, cancer in the retinas, was the cause of Flores’s blindness at the age of three. Flores owes much of his independence and success developing as a blind person to the support of two driven older sisters, a hard-working father and a loving mother who dedicated over 30 years to the education system. Richie has dedicated much of his talents and abilities to improving the lives and impressions toward blindness in his work. As a gradu-ate of Texas Tech University Master’s in Rehabilitation Counsel-ing Program, earning a degree in History from Texas A&M University, and a graduate of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, Flores enthusiastically seeks the opportunity to increase the potential to engage youth to compete equally in the classroom and increase the blind’s role in the workforce. Flores firmly be-lieves that by providing proper training and innovating access the blind can achieve security, equality, and opportunity. This belief drives his work. Currently he is a Youth Services Coordinator at the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco. Over the past ten years, Flores has maintained a consistent productive position in a variety of capacities concerning Youth Programs under the direction of five Presidents of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas. He also has several years of experience as a teacher of life-skills for students with disabilities at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Richie is proud to take part in guid-ing blind students toward vocational rehabilitative enrichment, higher education, internships, and employment. Richie is on the Board of Directors of the National Beep Baseball Association, which is an international adaptive sport for the blind. Flores won a World Series championship ring in this sport as a player for the Austin Blackhawks in 2014.

William Freeman American Printing House for the Blind, Software Quality Assurance Analyst and Braille Transcriber William Freeman started at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) as a braille transcriber. He is an NLS Certified Transcriber and also has NBA Formats Certification. Through his position as a transcriber he was one of the first testers of BrailleBlaster before eventually becoming the main tester for all APH technology products. His knowledge and love of braille has given him a unique perspective in his approach to software testing and helped ensure that APH software is accessible to those that require braille.

Laurie Garcia Department of Education/CSMT, Staff Services Manager II/Ex-Officio Trustee, California Laurie Garcia has been the manager and overseeing the CSMT for over five years. She has worked for the California Depart-ment of Education for over 16 years in various capacities, but the majority in the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division, which also includes the CSMT unit.

Sally Garlick, M.A., Special Education/VI, O&M, Educational Leadership Willamette Educational Service District, TVI/O&M Specialist Sally Garlick graduated in education at a time when teachers were a glut on the market. Instead of finding a position, she

raised a family and opened a tax office, becoming enrolled to represent taxpayers before the IRS and instructing at tax semi-nars. Working with children, however, has always been her first priority, and when public service spots started encouraging new teachers, she decided to return to her roots. In the course of updating her 30 year old teaching certificate, she discovered VI and jumped into the profession. Over the past 16 years, indulging a desire to see more of this country, she has taught in Texas, southern and northern California, and eastern and western Oregon. She has gone through degree programs at four universities and taken courses at five others. Coming into teaching as a second career and with a wide range of educational influences, she hopes to bring an interesting perspective to the playing field.

Chester Goodale Madera County Office of Education, TVI Chester Goodale is in his fourth year as a TVI with Madera County Office of Education. He has been an educator for over 30 years, with prior teaching experience as a bilingual elemen-tary classroom teacher and as a Migrant Education Resource Teacher.

Jen Goulden, M.A., Linguistics, Certified Braille Transcriber Proofreader (UEB), EDP Crawford Technologies, Inc., Quality Assurance Specialist Jen Goulden has over ten years' experience in the field of document accessibility with the Government of

Canada and then as a consultant with Crawford Technologies. She holds a Master's degree in linguistics from the University of Ottawa and is a certified braille transcriber/proofreader. She speaks English, French and Spanish, and brings together her knowledge of accessible document production as well as her experience as a consumer. Before joining Crawford Technologies as a full-time employee, Jen worked for the Gov-ernment of Canada as a human resources advisor in employee performance management. She plays the piano, is an avid reader, and loves to travel.

Cindy Green California School for the Blind, TVI Cindy Green is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, working at California School for the Blind with students in the Applied Academics Transition program. Cindy learns from her students every day in providing instruction to support learners’ specific requirements, as well as which technologies are appropriate for each in accessing the general curriculum, as well as the ECC.


Maureen Green California School for the Blind, Teacher Specialist (Speech Language Pathologist) Maureen Green, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a Teacher Specialist for the Assessment Center at California School for the Blind. In addition to her work at CSB, she has

worked as a speech pathologist and as a learning disability specialist in hospital, community college, and public school settings. She has extensive experience working with individuals with vision impairment, with and without additional disabilities, and has contributed at workshops supporting parents who wish to help their children become more independent.

Radhika Grover, Ph.D., Computer Engineering, M.S., Electrical Engineering, B.S., Electrical Engineering SPEL Technologies, Inc., CEO Radhika S. Grover is the CEO of SPEL Technologies, Inc. She has over two decades of experience working on and supervising diverse projects that are related to the classroom, industry, and community, including those that involve creating applications and products for people with visual impairments or autism. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in computer engineering and electrical engineering at Santa Clara University and University of California, Santa Cruz Extension. She is the author of the book Programming with Java: A Multimedia Approach, which was published in 2011.

Jessica Groves Orientation Center for the Blind, Acting Administrator Jessica Grove is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and a Specialization in Working with Late Deafened and Hard of Hear-ing Adults. Jessica joined the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) in 2012 as the Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor-Qualified Rehabilitation Professional (SVRC-QRP) at the Orientation Center for the Blind (OCB) in Albany, CA. In September 2014 she was promoted to Assistant Administrator for Programs/Services and has been honored to serve in the role of Acting Administrator for the past year.

James Gump LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Youth Services Coordinator Jamey Gump works tirelessly to create and implement program-ming for youth and transitional age students. Jamey is in his twenties and has been connected to the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired for nearly his whole life. Beginning in middle school, Jamey was associated with Enchanted Hills Camp, in Napa, as a camper. Four years later, he became a camp counselor and played a major role in training future camp counselors. Jamey, who is blind due to achromatopsia, came to Enchanted Hills Camp to enjoy nature, learn blindness skills, but most importantly, to help foster a community of friends and mentors who are also blind. Camp helped him enter the

blindness world with confidence, cane first, so that he could partake in the greater world more richly. He has been a Light-House Youth Services Coordinator for four years and is an excellent role model to dozens of blind and low vision youth around the Bay Area and beyond.

Veronica Gunn California School for the Blind, Assistive Technology Specialist Veronica Gunn is a TVI and an Assistive Technology Specialist at the California School for the Blind.

Cyndi Hammonds California Department of Education/CSMT, Staff Information Systems Analyst Cyndi Hammonds is currently the Staff Information Systems Analyst for the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional, Resources Division of the California Department of Education. She has extensive experience in implementing and managing large software projects in addition to providing technical support for the past 27 years, with seven years spent in elementary edu-cation. She is the primary support contact for the Instructional Materials Ordering and Distribution System (IMODS) and the Clearinghouse for Specialized Media and Technology (CSMT).

Cory Hanosh, B.S., Psychology NorthState Assistive Technology, President Cory Hanosh has been involved in technology integration for over 25 years. The last nine years have been dedicated to enhancing vision systems for the visually impaired. The release of his Revolution and Revo2Go systems have given the user’s additional independence and functionality and given students the ability to do more with less obtrusive products. In turn, the students are more apt to use these technologies since they look more mainstream. Mr. Hanosh continues to look at ways to provide the visually impaired state of the art solutions. He travels statewide providing technology assessments/recommendations to students and districts.

Nicole Harris University of California, Santa Cruz, Senior in Community Studies Nicole Harris is a senior at UCSC with a major in Community Studies, emphasis in Economic Justice graduating in 2017. She had the honor and privilege of completing her field study at the LightHouse for the Blind and Visual Impaired in San Francisco focusing on the impact of the Employment Immersion and Youth Employment Series Program. Nicole Harris was not only named Pfister Scholar but also was President of the Associated Stu-dents of Skyline College. Her dedication and commitment to the community fostered a desire to look at the multiple intersections that affect the quality of life of many. She has a passion for arm-ing individuals with the tools they need to change their lives and loves to facilitate conversations that will spark growth and change within the individuals in the space. Nicole’s latest pro-jects have been focusing on creating inclusive spaces on col-


lege campuses for student with disabilities. By acknowledging the multiple intersections with all of us, we can create under-stand which is the catalyst for change.

Jayma Hawkins American Printing House for the Blind, Braille Transcription Services Supervisor Jayma Hawkins is the Braille Transcription Services Supervisor at the American Printing House for the Blind. Jayma has been a NLS Certified Transcriber since 2002. She has NBA Formats Certification, and specializes in the transcription of early literacy textbooks and materials. Jayma holds a Bachelor of Science degree in the Administration of Justice from Eastern Kentucky University. Her current role at APH is to train new transcribers, support staff in additional braille certifications, and support the transcription program at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Woman and to train transcribers across the country. Jayma also is a lead trainer and transition specialist with the Braille Tran-scriber Apprentice Program for APH. Jayma works with ex-offenders from across the United States in successful re-entry into society as well as teaching them skills to be suc-cessful transcribers outside of prison. Jayma is a member of CTEBVI, Visual Aid Volunteers of Florida (VAVF), is a member of the National Braille Association (NBA), and is the Vice-Chair of the Computer Assistive Transcription Committee for NBA.

Betty Henry, Ph.D., Nationally Cert. School Psychologist California School for the Blind, T Teacher Specialist (Psychologist) Betty Henry has been a Teacher Specialist for the Assessment Center at California School for the Blind since 2006. In over forty years as an

educator, she has worked closely and effectively with other school professionals to address the developmental and learning needs of children.

Stephanie Herlich, M.A., TVI, Orientation & Mobility Specialist California School for the Blind, Assess. Center Coordinator Stephanie Herlich has been a teacher of the visually impaired and orientation and mobility specialist for over 20 years. Currently she is the Assessment Center Coordinator at the Cali-fornia School for the Blind in Fremont, CA. She is the author of The Mangold Braille Program, Unit 3 UEB and Learning Braille Contractions, published by Exceptional Teaching; co-author of Getting to Know You: A Social Skills Curriculum for Students Who Are Visually Impaired and Their Sighted Peers, published by the American Printing House for the Blind; contributing author of Learning to Listen Listening to Learn, published by American Foundation for the Blind; contributing author of ECC Essentials Teaching the Expanded Core Curriculum to Students with Visual Impairments; and co-author of CSB’s BrailleNote Taker Guide (Apex & Braille Sense) providing step by step, easy to follow instructions as well as lesson plans incorporating the

Common Core and ECC standards. Stephanie was a researcher on the Alphabetic and Contracted Braille Study funded by Amer-ican Printing House for the Blind.

Vanessa Herndon California School for the Blind, TVI Vanessa Herndon is the lead teacher of an Applied Academics classroom at the California School for the Blind.

Cheryl Hewlett Nevada County Superintendent of Schools, Braille Tran-scriber/Assistive Technology Support Cheryl Hewlett has 15 years experience working as a Braille Transcriber and provides assistive technology support to the students in Nevada County. Working in a small rural county afforded Cheryl the opportunity to work closely with students, families, and special education support staff at our many district schools.

Ann Hinshelwood, M.A. Nevada County Superintendent of Schools, VI/O&MAnn Hinshelwood has been a teacher in special education for 33 years. For the past 28 years she has worked as a TVI/O&M instructor in Sacramento and Nevada counties. Ann completed a 3-year program through California Deafblind Services to assist districts with assessment and program planning for deaf-blind students. For 14 years, Ann and an incredibly dedicated team of educators led by Lois Harrell coordinated the Northern California Blind and Low Vision Olympics. Ann continues in this fantastic field for the wonderful students!

Helene Holman Exceptional Teaching, Inc., President, CEO Helene Holman is the President, CEO of Exceptional Teaching Inc., a company founded by Dr. Sally Mangold. Exceptional Teaching Inc. has provided high quality products to individuals with special needs for over 40 years. Over the past 18 years Ms. Holman has collaborated with teachers, parents and industry leaders to create products that benefit individuals who are blind and visually impaired.

Kevin Hughes HumanWare, West Regional Director As West Regional Director for HumanWare Kevin Hughes is responsible for consultation, training and support on the HumanWare Technologies for the visually impaired. Kevin has been with HumanWare for 15 years in this capacity, working closely with Vision Programs to support their students at many districts throughout his territory.

Christine Jones, M.B.A. Benetech, Senior Education Program Manager Christine Jones is a Senior Education Program Manager at Benetech, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower communi-ties in need by creating scalable technology solutions. She has more than two decades of experience in nonprofit program


management, education, and technology marketing. Since join-ing Benetech in 2009, Christine has conducted outreach and delivered Bookshare training nationwide. In her current role, she interacts extensively with people with disabilities as well as the educators and other professionals who support them. She part-ners with state education leaders and other organizations to bring about improved outcomes for people of all ages who have disabilities. Christine earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Mas-ter’s in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Greg Kehret LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Director, MAD Lab Greg Kehret has witnessed the evolution of the LightHouse’s alternative media capabilities from his fledgling days as Program Coordinator of Broadcast Services for the Blind to his current position as Director of the Media and Accessible Design (MAD Lab) where the focus is on producing world-class tactile graphics and 3D educational objects for the blindness communi-ty. Greg recently accepted a 2016 MTC Excellence in Motion Award on behalf of the MAD Lab for their pioneering develop-ment of Accessible BART Station maps to improve mobility for blind and vision impaired transit riders.

Bennet Kim Department of Rehabilitation/Blind Field Services, Rehabilitation Specialist Bennet Kim completed a Master’s of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling at California State University, Fresno (CSUF) in December 2009. She also obtained various certificates such as: Certificate of Rehabilitation Research Institute for Underrepre-sented Populations (RRIUP) Certificate of Completion for Deaf/Blindness Certificate in the course of study as a Vision Specialist. Her 10+ years of experience as a Rehabilitation Specialist, Rehabilitation Supervisor, and Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor-Qualified Rehabilitation Professional (SVRC-QRP), have given her an opportunity to formulate, develop and implement departmental policies in order to provide, improve, and expand vocational rehabilitation services including academic planning for consumers. It has also given her an opportunity to establish and manage relationships with community rehabilitation programs and other partners, including identification of issues and bringing the appropriate program and DOR staff together to address them.

Neal Kuniansky Duxbury Systems, Inc., Director of Marketing Approximately 20 years working in braille production, translation and transcription around the world, Duxbury Systems, Inc.. Neal Kuniansky has been working in the blindness field for 25 years. Beginning with the old Telesensory Systems, Inc. working primarily on training end users on OsCaR, VertPlus, braille embossers, and other related technologies, he went on to Optelec as the New England sales rep, and eventually to Duxbury Systems. This varied work experience has given him

the opportunity to work on many braille production, education, and other related projects around the world including India, Bangladesh, Russia, China, Ecuador, and elsewhere. Neal's passion is enabling individual literacy as a tool of freedom and personal empowerment.

Jerry Kuns California School for the Blind, Fremont, CA, Adaptive Technology Teacher, Retired Jerry Kuns has been involved with information access issues since the mid 1970s. He worked with some of the industry's leading product developers to

affect solutions for employment and education. He retired from the California School for the Blind as an Adaptive Technology Teacher in September of 2014. He continues to work tirelessly to promote braille literacy and the use of information access tools.

Ann Wai-Yee Kwong University of California, Santa Barbara, Ph.D. Student and Graduate Researcher Ann Wai-Yee Kwong is a Ph.D. student with a visual impairment with particular emphasis in education policy and Special Education, Disabilities, and Risk Studies at

the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2015, she received her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Education from UC Berkeley as a Gates Millennium scholar. Prior to her attendance at UC Santa Barbara, she worked as an education technician intern in Washington, DC disaggregating student suicidality data and analyzing its negative impact on both student and school excellence. In her free time, she enjoys experimenting with new recipes, volunteering, as well as spending time with friends and family. In 2014, Ann testified at the U.S. Senate hearing to advocate for herself and others, informing policy makers of the attitudinal and tangible societal barriers which limit the potentials of people with disabilities. Her research interests include: curriculum development for transition age youth with disabilities, self-determination, and cultural implications of professional and family partnerships. She is currently collaborating with the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities on designing and implementing curricula to increase competitive integrated employment for indi-viduals with disabilities and their families. In addition, Ann co-founded Survive or Thrive, an experience-based support group and mentoring program by and for individuals with disabilities, where she designs and facilitates workshops as well as mentors youth and their families. In a professional capacity, she also serves on various boards including the California Department of Rehabilitation's Blind Advisory Committee and the Association on Higher Education And Disability. Through her research and advocacy, Ann hopes to continue empowering others to envi-sion, define, and achieve their future aspirations.


Cindi Laurent Volunteer Braille Services, Coordina-tor Cindi Laurent has been transcribing braille since 1997. She is currently the Coordinator for Volunteer Braille Ser-vices in Minnesota. She has served on

the board of the National Braille Association for seven years and is the current chair of the NBA Formats Committee. She served on the BANA board as the NBA representative for several years and is now the chair of the BANA Formats Committee. She is certified in Literary, Nemeth and Formats and has received the Letter of Proficiency in UEB from the Library of Congress. She has also received certificates in UEB from CNIB and Australia.

Chelsey Laurito Helen Keller National Center, Senior O&M Specialist; Saint Johns University, Doctoral Student Chelsey Laurito is a trained TVI & COMS currently working at Helen Keller National Center for Deaf Blind Youths and Adults. She is currently pursuing a Psy.D. in School Psychology at Saint John’s University in Queens, New York. Her research interests include psycho-educational assessment in individuals with sen-sory loss, implications of sensory loss on mental health, and best practice for instruction to enhance learning in the class-room.

Patricia Leetz, M.S., Rehabilitation Psychology Department of Rehabilitation/Blind Field Services, Staff Ser-vices Manager 1 Patricia Leetz has a Master’s of Science Degree in Rehabilita-tion Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has worked as a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor-Qualified Rehabilitation Professional (SVRC-QRP) for 13 years at the Department of Rehabilitation with people who are blind. She now serves as a supervisor at the Department of Rehabili-tation/Blind Field Services.

Judith Lesner, Parent CAPVI, Board Member and Parent Ad-vocate Judith Lesner worked in the Residential Program of the California School for the Blind for over 30 years but in certain circles is probably best known as the mother of Jacob Lesner-Buxton. She was

a long time member of the board of the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) and is cur-rently on the board of its California chapter, CAPVI. She is also co-chair of the Blind Babies Foundation Professional Advisory Committee. She is the founder of the Lucky Touch Braille For-tune Cookie Company.

Jacob Lesner-Buxton, M.S.W. Jacob Lesner-Buxton is a person with cerebral palsy and low vision who is a community organizer in Santa Barbara. In his job, Jacob helps communities on the Central Coast advocate for disability rights. Jacob also enjoys writing articles, doing yoga, traveling and going to movies.

Kyle Logsdon Kyle Logsdon has been an Alternate Format Specialist since 2011. He is an expert in information technology and vector-based graphic design.

Edward Long A&E Low Vision Products, Partner, San Francisco State As a partner at A&E Low Vision Product, Edward Long has over 15 years of hands-on low vision experience working with students, veterans, and seniors. Edward has extensive experience with electronic magnification, OCR, and the latest low vision devices for the visually impaired.

Remy Long, Bachelors Degree A&E Low Vision Products, Partner, San Jose State As a partner at A&E Low Vision Product, Remy Long has over five years of hands-on low vision experience working with students, veterans, and seniors. Remy has extensive experience with electronic magnification, OCR, and the latest low vision devices for the visually impaired.

Amanda Lueck, Ph.D. San Francisco State University, Professor Emerita Amanda Hall Lueck, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita of Special Education and Communicative Disorders at San Francisco State University with a specialty in Visual Impairments. She has worked in the field of visual impairments for over 40 years. At the University of California, Berkeley Low Vision Clinic, Dr. Lueck coordinated education and rehabilitation services, work-ing with people of all ages in that clinic setting. She has been a teacher in California and Wisconsin, and she was the Director of the Assessment Center for the Visually Impaired, an outreach unit of the California School for the Blind. She has been a Fulbright Professor to Nepal where she introduced various aspects of low vision services, and she has also been a consult-ant in other developing countries. Dr. Lueck has developed nu-merous publications and has presented worldwide. Amongst other publications, Professor Lueck is the editor of the book, Functional Vision: A Practitioner's Guide to Evaluation and Intervention, published by AFB Press, is a co- author of a book for the American Printing House for the Blind, Developmental Guidelines for Infants with Visual Impairment: A Guidebook for Early Intervention, and is co-editor, with Professor Gordon Dut-ton, of Vision and the Brain: Understanding Cerebral Visual Im-pairment in Children.


Julie Maier, M.A., Special Education California Deafblind Services, Educational Specialist Julie Maier is an Educational Specialist for California Deafblind Services and provides technical assistance to families of children with deafblindness and the

children’s school teams. Julie also serves as the Program Coordinator for an OSEP-funded personnel preparation project "Specialization Program in the Education of Learners who are Deafblind " in collaboration with the Moderate-Severe Disabilities Program at San Francisco State University. In addi-tion to her work with CDBS, Julie has been a faculty member in the SFSU Department of Special Education since 1999 and been involved in the in the field of special education in the area of moderate-severe disabilities since 1987. Julie has presented at numerous conferences on the topic of meaningful assessment for children with multiple disabilities and deafblind-ness, including the 2015 International TASH Conference, the 2015 International CHARGE Syndrome Conference, and the 2016 German CHARGE Syndrome Conference. She has also written or co-authored several published articles on the topics of assessment, self-determination, collaborative partnerships between families and school teams, and social supports.

Angela Martyn California School for the Blind, Principal of Education Pro-grams Angela Martyn, M.A., is the current Principal of Education at the California School for the Blind. Angela has 26 years experience teaching blind and visually impaired. She has worked at the Ori-entation Center for the Bind teaching living skills, and as an itin-erant teacher of students with visual impairments and orienta-tion and mobility specialist for students birth-22 years of age. She has authored chapters on the education of students with visual impairments with an emphasis on functional living skills acquisition. She believes in empowering students to reach their full potential both academically and functionally.

Mike May, M.A., International Studies Sendero Group, President/CEO Mike May is co-founder and CEO of Sendero Group, developers of the first accessible GPS for the blind in 2000 and distributors of various adaptive technologies. He has been the principle investigator on several U.S. federal

grants as he works with numerous organizations to advance wayfinding technologies around the world.

Jessica McDowell Marin County Office of Education, TVI Jessica McDowell is a Teacher for the Visually Impaired and O&M Specialist working for Marin County Office of Education. She is currently serving as CTEVBI's Assistive Technology spe-cialist. VI teachers are constantly trying to keep up with new

technology and tools and she appreciates being part of CTEVBI and a community of teachers who share ideas. She always tries to work toward finding efficient solutions for her students--whether the answer is high tech or low tech. She believes that assessment of student's skills and needs, the learning task or activity, and the environment and supports are key to finding the right tools. Assistive Technology can help our students work efficiently and increase social engagement.

Neal McKenzie Sonoma County Office of Education, Adaptive Technology Specialist-Visually Impaired Neal McKenzie began his career as a paraprofessional for an academic braille student for five years. Neal began working for Sonoma County Office of Education as an Adaptive Technology Specialist and has a certification from CSUN. Neal works with students in preschool through high school.

Ramona Mclaughlin, M.A., Education, TVI Ramona Mclaughlin participated in the EDD Direc-tor's Disability Advisory Committee during her 20 year tenure at EDD. She has been working as a TVI in Southern California for six years.

Tina Michaud California School for the Blind, TVI Tina Michaud is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired at the Cali-fornia School for the Blind in Fremont, CA. Tina teaches an Adult Life Skills Class in the Transition Program and strives to ensure her students are well versed in accessing technology appropriate to individual need and promote independence and success both in the classroom and in the real world.

Laura Millar, Masters of Public Health and Masters of Human Sexuality LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Sexual Health Services Program Coordinator Laura Millar works as the Sexual Health Services Program Coordinator at the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Master’s of Public Health (2009) and a Master’s of Human Sexuality (2014). Laura’s current research focuses on how people who are blind and low vision learn about and navigate sex and intimate relationships. Through her work at the LightHouse, she offers workshops, trainings and in-services for individuals who are blind or low vision, their family members and the organizations that serve them, ensuring that sexual health information and services are comprehensive, inclusive and accessible for everyone.

Charles Mize, Certified Braille Transcriber - Formatting, Nemeth, and Literary Proofreading Georgia Braille Transcribers, Lead Transcriber Charles Mize is a trainer and lead transcriber for the Georgia Braille Transcribers in Macon, Georgia. He began his braille


studies in November 2007. Mr. Mize is certified in literary braille, literary braille proofreading, textbook formatting, and mathematics braille. His considers his specialty to be the Nemeth Code although he is well versed in tactile graphics. He authored a tactile graphic training manual, Introduction to Mathematical Diagrams, which is used by Central Georgia Tech-nical College as an On-The-Job (OTJ) certification course.

Jamie Murdy West Orange County Consortium for Special Education, TVI and O&M Specialist Jamie Murdy is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Orienta-tion and Mobility Specialist in Huntington Beach. She has been teaching students with visual impairments for the past 7 years. Prior to that, she worked for Sendero Group where she worked with Accessible GPS and other technology for the blind and visually impaired.

Caryn Navy, Ph.D., Mathematics Duxbury Systems, Inc., Senior Technical Staff Caryn Navy grew up using Nemeth Code from elementary school through her math work in graduate school and teaching math to sighted students. Among her roles at Duxbury Systems, she has worked on developing and supporting the tools for producing braille math in DBT as well as those in MegaDots. She is currently a consultant to the BANA Technical Math Com-mittee.

Paul Nguyen Stanford University, Alternate Format Specialist Paul Nguyen, B.S., Alternate Format Specialist, has a background in Business Administration: Management Information Systems. Has been at Stanford since

2010. He is skilled in the creation and implementation of Microsoft Word macros. Tammy Nixon, Certified Braille Transcriber - Literary Texas Department of Criminal Justice Mountain View Braille, Assistant Plant Manager Tammy Nixon is the Assistant Plant Manager for the Mountain View Braille Facility. She has her Literary Certification. She has worked in the corrections field for approximately 21 years. She has studied and taught Literary, Textbook, UEB, and Tactile classes for the Transcribers at the Mountain View Braille Facility for seven years. She will be presenting the Beyond the Walls Workshop prepared by the Mountain View Transcribers.

Lisa Okikawa, M.A. West Orange County Consortium for Special Education, TVI Lisa Okikawa is currently a teacher of students with visual impairments for the West Orange County Consortium for Special Education in Huntington Beach and serves on the CTEBVI board. Lisa is

an advocate of performing arts education for students who are

blind and visually impaired. She received a Broadway League Apple Educator Award and is the recipient of grants from Center Theatre Group (LA) and the National Education Association advocating literacy-based theatre education for students with visual impairments. Lisa's article, Putting It Together: Musical Theatre & Literacy for Children with Visual Impairments was published in The Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (2012). She is a frequent speaker in the field of blindness/visual impairments including engagements at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH); the Junior Blind of America (Los An-geles); conferences: CTEBVI (LA & SF), Association for Educa-tion and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired and Getting in Touch with Literacy. At these conferences, Lisa shares information about the importance and effects of imple-menting theatre education and the Expanded Core Curriculum into the school day. Prior to her career in education, Lisa held positions in the entertainment industry including Manager of New Media/Publicity for NBCUniversal and E! Networks. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. in Theatre; minor in English); California State University, Los An-geles (M.A. in Special Education/Visual Impairments). In fulfill-ment of her Master’s degree, she assisted in the development of an APH efficacy study of a reading intervention program for stu-dents who read braille and completed her thesis entitled, “An Examination of Attitudes and Experiences Related to the Devel-opment of Literacy for Braille Readers.”

Gina Ouellette California School for the Blind, Director of Student Services and Admissions Gina Ouellette is in her eleventh year with the California School for the Blind. She worked as a School Psychologist for fourteen years, nine of which were spent working with blind and visually impaired students at CSB. Gina is currently the Director of Stu-dent Services and Admissions at CSB, and oversees related services, referrals and admissions, and CSB’s WASC accredita-tion efforts.

Jonn Paris-Salb, M.A., Education California Department of Education, Consultant Jonn has been a classroom teacher for 20 years, a principal for 12 years, and has worked at the Department of Education for over 10 years. Jonn is very experienced in special education, assis-

tive technology and transition resources.

Michael Parker Access Ingenuity, Owner Michael Parker currently owns and operates Access Ingenuity, an assistive technology resource in the Bay Area. He has a master’s in mechanical engineering and is always up for a challenge in mathematics. He helps and supports students and their educational teams in determining appropriate technology and learning how to use it.


Susan Pelbath Orientation Center for the Blind, Acting Assistant Adminis-trator Sue Pelbath is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with a Mas-ter’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and a Specialization in Rehabilitation Technology. Sue worked in High School Special Education for many years before she was hired by the Depart-ment of Rehabilitation Blind Field Services Division in 2014. She began working as the Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor-Qualified Rehabilitation Professional (SVRC-QRP) at the Orientation Center for the Blind in 2015. For the past six months, Sue has been the Acting Assistant Administrator for Programs/Services in addition to her role as SVRC-QRP.

Rio Popper High School Student Rio Popper is a 10th grader in Redwood City. She has become a routine presenter at Northern California CTEBVI conferences and has shared her wealth of experience being blind and navigating the waters of the core and expanded core curriculum. She now is actually in the water almost daily as she has become an active rower and exercise enthusiast. As always she is excited to share her experience and knowledge the other students, their families, and professionals within our field.

Sue Reilly, Certified Braille Transcriber San Diego City Schools, Retired Sue Reilly has been a certified transcriber for almost 40 years. She has served in a variety of roles in CTEBVI, including repre-senting CTEBVI on the board of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) for 17

years. She was a member of BANA's task force for the transition to Unified English Braille (UEB). Since retiring from the San Die-go City Schools, she has enjoyed many opportunities to volun-teer for both CTEBVI and BANA.

John Romeo, Certified Braille Transcriber - Literary, Textbook and Nemeth Full Cell Braille, Owner John Romeo is the program coordinator for "Beyond the Walls" and is the owner/operator of Full Cell Braille, Inc. He has been transcribing print to braille for over

20 years. John is certified in literary, textbook, and Nemeth codes.

L. Penny Rosenblum, Ph.D. University of Arizona, Project Director/Professor of Practice Dr. Penny Rosenblum is a Professor of Prac-tice at the University of Arizona where she prepares teachers of students with visual impairments. She is the Project Director for AnimalWatch Vi: Building Graphics Literacy

(2016-2019) which is a three-year project funded by the US Institute of Education Sciences. Previously she was the Project Director for the AnimalWatch Vi Suite project. She has been a teacher of students with visual impairments for 30 years and has been preparing teachers for 18 years. Dr. Rosenblum publishes widely, presents both within the U.S. and internationally and has many interests including tactile graphics, braille literacy, abacus instruction, non-driving and social skills. She lives in Tucson with her husband Dennis and enjoys bicycling, hiking, and time with friends.

Richard Rueda Society for the Blind, CareersPLUS Richard Rueda has worked in the field of Blindness and Low Vision since 1992. He has worked with the Intercommunity Blind Center in Whittier, the Junior Blind of America in Los Angeles, Department of Rehabilitation as the statewide Transition Coordinator since 2001, served as Director of Community Ser-vices at the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco from 2010 through 2011. In the autumn of 2011, Richard returned to the Junior Blind serving as their new Director of Transition Services for northern and Central California. Richard has facilitated professional workshops and seminars for CTEBVI since 2004. Richard also presents on employment solutions for blind and disabled persons at national and International conferences. In late 2010, he was invited to speak at a conference in Taipei City, Taiwan on Barriers to em-ployment. In 2016, Richard continues to work with various agencies in consulting on best practices in serving blind and low vision youth. Richard also serves as Past President of the North-ern California Chapter of AER International (Association & Education of Rehabilitation of the Blind). He serves on the Com-munity Advisory Committee (CAC) for the California School for the Blind, the statewide Deafblind Advisory Committee, and the Department of Rehabilitation’s Transition Council committee. He co-authored Insights Into Low Vision, with Dr. Bill Takeshita.

Sharon Sacks California School for the Blind, Superintendent Dr. Sharon Z. Sacks is the Superinten-dent of the California School for the Blind. Prior to her appointment at CSB, Sharon was a full professor and the

coordinator of the teacher preparation program in blindness and visual impairment at California State University, Los Angeles. Sharon has published widely and presented nationally and inter-nationally in the areas of social skills instruction, psycho-social implications of visual impairments and transition, from school to adult life. She has been President of AERBVI, and has served on numerous boards.


Sheryl Schmidt, M.A. San Bernardino County Superinten-dent of Schools, TVI Sheryl Schmidt received her B.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of La Verne. After two years of teaching third grade she began course work to become

a VI teacher at Cal State LA. She has been a TVI for 23 years. Sheryl also holds a M.A. in Early Childhood Low Incidence Disabilities.

Komal Shirore SPEL Technologies, Inc., Lead Software DeveloperKomal Shirore is the Lead Software Developer at SPEL Technologies, Inc. Her areas of expertise include Python Java, Javascript, and other computer programming languages.

Yue-Ting (Ting) Siu, Ph.D. San Francisco State University, Assistant Professor Ting is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and assistant professor in the Visual Impairment Program at San Francisco State University. Her mission aims to improve TVIs' access to resources and

align tech developments with classroom implementation and accessibility needs. She can be found on Twitter @TVI_ting or lurking around the nearest ping pong table.

Tamar Solomon, M.S., CCC-SLP California School for the Blind, Teacher Specialist (Speech Language Pathologist) Tamar Solomon, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a Speech Language Pathologist who works at the California School for the Blind (CSB) where, following her experiences in the hospital, public school, and private practice, she has found her passion working with the blind and VI population. During her three years at CSB, Ms. Solomon has worked to foster a collaborative model with colleagues across disciplines in order to identify the unique and diverse speech and language needs of the VI population.

Justin Steinberg, M.A., Special Education, Visual Impairments Justin Steinberg is a recent graduate of the Visual Impairments program at San Francisco State University. He is visually impaired from motor nystagmus and is on the autism spectrum. He received the Graduate Distinguished Achievement

Award from San Francisco State in the spring of 2016. He en-joys playing music, volunteering with Challenger League soccer and baseball, which gives children with disabilities opportunities to play sports and he also enjoys tutoring students in Algebra, English and other subject areas.

Robert Stepp, Ph.D. Braille2000, LLC, Owner Dr. Robert Stepp is a frequent presenter at CTEBVI. He is the designer of the Braille2000 system.

Greg Stilson HumanWare Blindness Products, Product Manager Greg Stilson has been with HumanWare since 2006. During this time he has held positions on both the Technical support and sales teams. He currently is the Product Manager for Hu-manWare's blindness product lines, working out of Wisconsin. Being blind since birth, Greg was an avid user of assistive tech-nology during his educational career and continues to use all different types of technology today.

Robert Sweetman, M.S. Sweetman Systems, CEO Sweetman Systems has been providing assistive technology to people with visual impairments since 1989. Bob Sweetman honed his assistive technology skills during his 15 years as an attorney and as the technology instructor with Junior

Blind of America and Sweetman Systems. He earned a B.A. from Stanford University, a J.D. from UC Davis, and an M.S. in Assistive Technology from Cal State Northridge.

Sue Sweetman Sweetman Systems, CFO Sweetman Systems has been providing assistive technology to people with visual impairments since 1989. Sue Sweetman graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and spent six years as a high school agriculture teacher before transferring her pas-sion for "learning by doing" to folks with visual impairments.

Arif Syed, B.S., Assistive Technology Certificate The Hatlen Center for the Blind, Technology Department Coordinator After earning a B.S. in Environmental Science at U.C. Berkeley, Arif Syed came on board as the Hatlen Center's Office Manager, bookkeeper, and IT support in February 2004. In 2008, Arif was promoted to half-time Development Associate and half-time Of-fice Manager. In addition, after completing a number of work-shops on website development, he became the webmaster. His affinity for technology led him to assisting and teaching in The Hatlen Center technology lab and in 2014 he was promoted to Coordinator of the Technology Department full time. By placing a strong emphasis on productivity software, Arif prepares Hatlen's graduates for college and joining the workforce.


Bill Takeshita, Doctor of Optometry Braille Institute, Associate Professor Dr. Bill Takeshita is an optometrist who specializes in low vision rehabilitation for children. He was in practice for 17 years before he developed a retinal disease that resulted in blindness in 2009. Dr. Takeshita's personal experience of

transitioning from being fully sighted to totally blind has allowed him to learn how to overcome the difficulties of being low vision.

David Tobin, B.S. Audiojack, Creator David Tobin created Audiojack and has been working with educational programs all over the world to help student engagement and achievement. He has worked to create custom programming and content for over the past 11 years.

Joan Treptow, Braille Transcriber Treps Consulting & Braille Service Joan Treptow has been a braille transcriber for 26 years, working six years as an independent contractor. She has served CTEBVI as president 1999-2000, past Tactile Graphics Specialist, current Large Print Specialist.

Garrison Tsinajinie, M.A., Special Education University of Arizona, Doctoral Student Garrison Tsinajinie is of the Black Streak Wood People (Tsi’naajinii) born into the Big Water Clan (Tótsohnii) from the Navajo Nation. Garrison completed his Special Education M.A. in 2011 at the University of Arizona. After completing his M.A., he worked as an Itinerant Teacher of the Visually Impaired with the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind - Eastern Highlands Regional Cooperative for five years - primarily serving students between ages 3-21 on the Navajo Nation. Garrison is a former McNair Scholar, and a current National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities (NLCSD) Scholar. Garrison currently is a first year doctoral student in the special education program at the University of Arizona. As an undergraduate, Garrison con-ducted research exploring self-determination theory and independence among American Indians with visual impairments. His current interests include conducting research to justify the improvement of services and funding for children and adults with visual impairments in native rural communities.

Niels van Weele INDEX Braille, International Sales Manager Niels van Weele has served the international braille and low vision community since 2001, first with ALVA, then BAUM Retec Germany, having worked with high quality desktop magnifiers, reading machines, and braille and speech solutions for challeng-ing school and workplaces.

He is now with INDEX Braille Sweden, acting as International Sales Manager. Niels is well-known throughout the world as an international expert in braille-orientated assistive technologies and now brings his experience to the industry-leading team at INDEX.

Danny Thomas Vang San Francisco State University, Bachelor’s Student Danny Thomas Vang is a student at San Francisco State University majoring in Social Work and minoring in Economics. He wishes to combine the two aforementioned disciplines to conduct policy analysis and program implementation in poverty, sustainable housing, and gainful employment with an emphasis on cultural and structural barriers. Outside of the academic arena, he enjoys cooking, watching anime, and spending time with family and friends. Prior to his attendance at San Francisco State University, Danny was the founder and president of the Advocates for Students with Disabilities, a student representa-tive for the President’s Committee on Disability and Access, and a student representative for the Services for Students with Disabilities Student Advisory Committee at Fresno State. In addition, he was afforded the opportunity to study British government and politics at Imperial College in London, England. Danny was suddenly thrust into the disability community when he was diagnosed with glaucoma and cataracts at the age of fifteen. With a newfound visual impairment, he feels at ease utilizing a white cane and screen reader. Survive or Thrive had positively impacted his academic growth when he was a participant, so he has since collaborated with the facilitation of biannual workshops and assisted mentees with reaching their post-secondary goals.

Joseph Vona California School for the Blind, TVI, Assistive Technology SpecialistJoseph Vona is an assistive technology specialist at the Califor-nia School for the Blind in Fremont, CA and a Teacher of the Visually Impaired. He studied at San Francisco State University for a VI Credential and this is his fourth year teaching and second year at CSB.

Yurika Vu, M.A., VRT/O&M California School for the Blind, Assistive Technology Coor-dinator Yurika Vu has received her Master’s degree in Vision Rehab Therapy from Western Michigan University and Orientation and Mobility credential from San Francisco State University and has served in the field of blindness for almost a decade. She currently works at the California School for the Blind as the As-sistive Technology Coordinator. Previously, she worked at the Western Blind Rehab Center in Palo Alto, CA as a Computer Access Technology Specialist working with visually impaired veterans and active duty service members. She was published as co-author in the Journal of Visual Impairment: Neurological Vision Rehabilitation: Description and Case Study. Yurika is co-author of CSB’s BrailleNote Taker Guide (Apex & Braille


Sense) providing step-by-step, easy to follow instructions as well as lesson plans incorporating the common core and ECC stand-ards.

Anne Ward, Parent CAPVI, Northern California Co-Chairperson Anne Ward is the mother of a visually impaired man, Patrick Ward. She has been his advocate for many years. She realizes that most parents of kids with visual impairments are very anx-ious that their children grow up to be happy and productive, self-confident and employed, "normal" adults. Her son, age 33, has a

B.A. in Liberal Studies from CSUMB, has a specialist credential from SFSU in the field of visual impairments. Anne has been involved with CAPVI for many years.

Dave Wilkinson, M.A. HIMS, Inc., National Education Manager Dave Wilkinson is the National Education Manager for HIMS. He is a lifelong advocate for braille and is a lifelong user of assistive technology. Previously Dave has held positions with HumanWare and Freedom Scientific. He has presented nationally and internationally on a wide breadth of topics.

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Friday, March 10th 10:00 am—11:00 am

101 (T, E, P) BEYOND THE WALLS Touch of Tac le Presenters: Delores Billman and Randy Davis The "Touch of Tac le" workshop will showcase three different methods we use to create tac le graphics. The College, Collage Enhanced, and Digital Graphic method will be presented step‐by‐step and a Com‐panion book with other examples and helpful hints will also be provided.

102 (T, E) Large Print Support Group Presenter: Joan Treptow This is a group discussion of ps and techniques for quick produc on of large print materials for the classroom. Bring ideas to share and problems to brainstorm. It’s ideal for new TAs and para‐educators.

103 (T, E, P) Alternate Format for STEM Presenters: Paul Nguyen, Kyle Logsdon and Mason Chow This is a brief overview of the workflow preparing STEM materials for students at Stanford University. We will cover the handling of STEM materials by fo‐cusing on mathema cal equa ons, figures, and diagrams. So ware we will touch upon includes Mi‐croso Word, OCR so ware such as ABBY FineReader, In y, and drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape. We will examine the resul ng alternate format such as accessible docu‐ments and materials such as tac le graphics.

104 (E) An Overview of the Dynamics of O&M for the VI Teacher Presenters: Ralph Cioffi and Lisa Okikawa Do you ever find yourself ques oning what takes place on orienta on and mobility lessons? Are you aware of the significant impact O&M services may have on your student? Would a greater understand‐ing of the dynamics of mobility lessons allow you as a TVI to view your student differently?

105 (E, P) Empowering Educa onal Expecta ons: Perspec ves of Visually Impaired Students Presenters: Ann Wai‐Yee Kwong, Karen Arcos Danny Thomas Vang and Nancy Aguilera In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Sta s cs provided another disheartening es mate: only 17.5% of peo‐ple with disabili es are employed. Empowerment allows students, families, and educators/staff to strengthen their rela onships and communica on. It is also integral to promo ng a fulfilling life, thus heightening societal expecta ons and leveling the playing field for visually impaired students. Subse‐quently, a collabora ve environment which facili‐tates awareness and ownership is cri cal toward maximizing their poten al. Survive or Thrive, co‐founded by and for visually impaired students, con‐sists of theme‐centered biannual workshops and a mentoring component. We aim to empower stu‐dents and their families to enhance societal expecta‐ons.

106 (E) Implemen ng a Culturally Sustaining Peda‐gogy for American Indian Students with Visual Im‐pairments. Presenter: Garrison Tsinajinie Funds of knowledge! A theore cal framework de‐veloped by anthropology and educa on researchers at the University of Arizona to inform educa onal prac ce for diverse students and debunk deficit the‐orizing. This presenta on will include an overview of funds of knowledge and a descrip on of how TVIs can explore third space. This is a co‐crea on of au‐then c interac on and learning between American Indian students with visual impairments and TVIs. The par cipants will be provided with handouts summarizing ac vi es and addi onal resources.

WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE A er each workshop number is (are) the strand(s)

the workshop is most likely to appeal to:

T = Transcriber, E = Educator, P ‐ Parent


107 (E) Using DBT to Convert Braille Math to Printed Math Presenter: Caryn Navy We will explore how to take a .brf file with braille math produced on a notetaker and open it in DBT to create inkprint math. We will cover several op ons, using Nemeth Code or UEB math in the original file and using Scien fic Viewer or Word with MathType for producing the inkprint math.

108 (E) Para‐what? The Changing Roles of Paraeducators Who Work with Students Who are Visually Impaired Including Blindness and Strategies to Help Support them in the Educa onal Se ng. Presenter: Patricia Camarillo Paraeducators who are assigned to work with students with visual impairments help fulfill unique roles which rarely have clearly defined job descrip‐ons. The roles and responsibili es carried out by

these paraeducators can vary based on the student’s degree of visual impairment and other iden fied educa onal needs. The research presented will discuss the themes developed from a research study tled “Determining training opportu‐ni es and supports for paraeducators working with students with visual impairments including blind‐ness.” By iden fying and reflec ng on the devel‐oped themes, teachers of the visually impaired can learn how to support paraeducators who provide educa onal supports to students.

109 (T, E, P) What the What? And How to Use it? Assis ve Technology: What’s Available and How to Implement it. Presenters: Adrian Amandi, Vanessa Herndon, Cindy Green and Tina Michaud We will target key developments in assis ve tech‐nology, essen al tools, and strategies for educa on‐al teams and families to use with students, ge ng them started with the right technology and supports for success. Whether you are curious about main‐stream technology with built‐in or add‐on accessibil‐ity solu ons or proprietary technology, you need to know what is available and how best to implement it. Join teaching staff from the California School for the Blind as they share ideas and best prac ces. We will also be providing an extensive resource regard‐ing what’s available in assis ve technology.

110 (T, E, P) California Department of Educa on/Clearinghouse for Specialized Media and Technolo‐gy—Your Resource for K–8 Instruc onal Materials for Your Visually Impaired Student Presenters: Laurie Garcia and Cyndi Hammonds Representa ves from the California Department of Educa on, Clearinghouse for Specialized Media and Technology (CSMT) Unit will be here to talk with you about the services and products they provide. They will discuss topics like how to navigate the new IMODS 2.0., how to register to receive Braille and Large Print textbooks and supplemental materials at no cost to you, as well as how to register your legally blind students and receive federal money to pur‐chase products from the American Prin ng House for the Blind. Informa on will be provided about methods of obtaining digital copies of products from CSMT and how to request books from the Na onal Instruc onal Materials Access Center. Highlights and helpful informa on on using CSMT’s online ordering system will be covered. There will be me for ques‐ons and answers, and applica ons will be available

to sign up for CSMT resources.

111 (T, E, P) A New Paradigm in Notetakers: The Newly Leveled Playing Field! Presenter: Dave Wilkinson In this workshop we pull back the curtain and reveal a new notetaker from HIMS. We have bridged the gap between blindness‐specific and mainstream programs in a single device. This notetaker capitaliz‐es on the strength of the Polaris Office suite of pro‐grams familiar to millions of Android users world‐wide, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, main‐stream email and web clients, and much more. Com‐bine Polaris Office and Google Docs, Google Class‐room, and other capabili es that come with Google cer fica on and you have a complete mobile class‐room solu on while maintaining blind‐friendly tasks such as allowing for proper Nemeth and UEB math entry and display.


Friday, March 10th 11:15 am—12:15 pm

201 (T) BEYOND THE WALLS The Game Plan: Mt. View Braille Busters vs. Notesters: Reference Notes Presenters: Tammy Nixon and Randy Davis The Mt. View BrailleBusters are pumped about presen ng The Game Plan, an informa ve and appealing workshop. A quarterback huddle was necessary to make the best call on transcribing each down based on rules and reader's perspec ve. Our goal is assis ng the braille community to have victo‐ry over the Notesters. The Game Plan (video) and the Playbook, a booklet consis ng of print examples of notes and corresponding braille transcrip on will be given to all par cipants. The examples consist of commonly encountered reference notes, test easily mistaken for notes, and Hail Mary notes. Remem‐ber, we are going for the TOUCHDOWN.

202 (T, E) UEB Potpourri Presenter: Cindi Laurent If you have trouble knowing the difference between indicators and symbols, this workshop is for you. We will look at web addresses (and required indicators) as well as transcriber defined indicators and sym‐bols.

203 (T, E, P) The Use of 3D Prin ng in Teaching Sci‐ence and Mathema cs Concepts to Blind and Low‐Vision High School Students Presenter: Michael Cheverie 3D prin ng offers a unique opportunity for science and mathema cs teachers of blind and low‐vision high school students. Workshop a endees will see examples of 3D prin ng being used to teach con‐cepts in mathema cs, biology, and chemistry to vis‐ually impaired high school students in southern Cali‐fornia. Workshop a endees should bring their lap‐top computers with OpenSCAD and Cura applica‐ons pre‐installed so that they can learn how to cre‐

ate basic objects and prepare them for prin ng. If Wi‐Fi connec ons are available at the conference, a endees will be able to download and install the applica ons with assistance from the workshop con‐

ductor. Workshop a endees should also bring a micro SD card.

204 (E, P) ACCESS From Out of Le Field Presenter: Jonn Paris‐Salb With the support of teachers, parents, and other support personnel in the stands, students will come to bat for their future. First base ‐ a transi on plan, second base ‐ work experience, third base ‐ training/courses in a chosen field, and a home run for inde‐pendence in a job with a living wage. Coaching is the glue that binds the package. Come root, root, root for the student!

205 (E, P) An iPad App and Graphics that Build Math Word Problem Solving Skills Presenter: L. Penny Rosenblum The AnimalWatch Vi Suite project designed an iPad app and graphics to support youth in building math word problem solving skills. The app features endan‐gered species of animals. From our na onal study, comparison of youth's performance with "paper units" vs. "app units" will be shown. Video clips of youth's hand movements when reading maps, charts, etc. will be shared and discussed. Time for discussion will be included.

206 (E) Frustrated with Progress? Psychology and Language Skills to the Rescue! Presenters: Maureen Green, Be y Henry and Tamar Solomon Just as students with visual impairment o en feel isolated, those who work with these students can feel isolated, as well. This is especially true when students don’t make the progress on goals that we expect. What to do? Consider team support! Con‐sider important aspects of language and learning that are relevant to the needs of professionals who work with students with visual impairment, and how this knowledge can support your work. The goal will be to iden fy when and how psychologists and speech/language pathologists can help iden fy and address important issues that may stand in the way of school success.


207 (E, P) “Looking At the World Through Rose‐Colored Glasses": Approaches to Posi ve Assessment Presenter: Julie Maier This presenta on will examine the perspec ves and assump ons educators and other related service providers o en employ when viewing students with dea lindness or mul ple disabili es including visual impairments‐‐specifically looking at capacity‐building vs. deficit‐framing perspec ves. These perspec ves can strongly influence the direc on taken during assessment and planning and develop‐ment of educa onal goals and programs including: access to core curriculum; development of effec ve communica on systems and behavioral supports; self‐determina on opportuni es; and meaningful quality of life outcomes. I will share student‐centered and ecological approaches, which can help iden fy meaningful areas for further assessment and lead to more effec ve planning for instruc on and supports.

208 (E) Running a VI Program on a Shoestring Budget! Presenters: Ann Hinshelwood and Cheryl Hewle This workshop will provide you with informa on on the successful strategies we've used to gain the funds, materials and equipment necessary to run our vision program. As well as outlining the typical funding sources, we will give you ideas to help you think outside of the box. Please bring the successful methods you’ve used for gaining materials for your VI program to share with the group.

209 (E) Your Student Needs Assis ve Tech: You Need A Plan! Presenters: Joe Vona and Adrian Amandi This session will explore assis ve technology needs in the classroom, how you as a TVI can iden fy stu‐dent’s needs, and what resources are available. We will also cover how to conduct assessments, the var‐ious types (i.e., observa on, direct assessments, checklists, interviews), report wri ng, and making recommenda ons.

210 (E, P) Go Read! Reading Books with Your BrailleNote Touch Presenters: Kevin Hughes and Jerry Kuns The mely availability of books and reading materi‐als for the blind student is essen al for success. This

session will demonstrate the step‐by‐step instruc‐ons on how a blind student, using the BrailleNote

Touch can independently access Bookshare and oth‐er sources of reading materials. The session will re‐veal Google "Playstore" access where one would download and install third party applica ons such as "Go Read" and the subsequent steps to install on the BrailleNote Touch. The session will show the ac‐cessible steps to work with Go Read to find a book, download and then read using the Victor Reader ap‐plica on on the BrailleNote Touch.

211 (E, P) Where the Heck is the Screen: A Visual Person’s Guide to the New HIMS Notetaker Presenters: Dave Wilkinson and Bob Sweetman Does a notetaker need a full screen as part of the device? We don’t think so. A touch screen adds weight and girth to the device making it too bulky to be convenient. But visual teachers and parents sure like to know what the heck is going on. In this work‐shop we will look at the various ways a visual person can see the output from the latest HIMS notetaker, and how IT professionals can use a touch screen and normal touch gestures to connect the notetaker to school networks.

Friday, March 10th 2:00 pm—3:00 pm

301 (T, E) Restoring a Gunky Perkins Brailler to Health Presenters: Chester Goodale and Jus n Adams (Con nued in 401) Did you know that most braillers that “need repair” only need to be cleaned and oiled to be restored to service? At this workshop we will walk you through the steps to clean and oil your dirty, gummy brailler. Bring a brailler from your office or come prac ce on one of ours! A kit con‐taining brushes, oils, and cleaning cloth will be avail‐able at the workshop for a minimal fee. You will also need three screwdrivers: a small #1 Phillips, a 7‐inch long #2 Phillips, and a small standard screwdriver. Bring your own or purchase a set at the workshop for $10.


302 (T, E, P) DBT and Microso Word: Efficiency and Ease of Use by Marrying These Two Powerful Tools Presenter: Neal Kuniansky This workshop is intended for those that are casual users that are new to DBT, and for those who have not been u lizing DBT and Word together. This workshop will center on u lizing Microso Word as the authoring and edi ng tool for crea ng struc‐tured input that can actually go to near perfect braille via the Duxbury Braille Translator. We will touch on the BANA Braille Template for MS Word as an extremely powerful tool for authoring complex braille documents. We will also touch briefly on u ‐lizing MathType within MS Word as a tool for crea ng print math that can easily go to both UEB and Nemeth braille math.

303 (T) Diacri cs and Braille Formats Presenter: Cindi Laurent This workshop will review how UEB has changed the way diacri cs are transcribed.

304 (E, P) Virtual Audio Learning with Audiojack Presenter: David TobinPar cipants will run through two Audiojack samples. The first will allow you to use audio based narra ves to aid in Orienta on and Mobility. The second will focus on how audio based exercises can put blind students on the same level as sighted by using core skills.

305 (E, P) What's in My Technology Toolbox: A Day in the Life of a Braille Student Presenter: Taylor Cox and Jamie Murdy I will be talking to you about my life as a braille general educa on student and teenager who uses technology throughout the day. There are so many technological tools out there, and I’m going to talk about how they help me in my everyday life to be independent. Some of the technology I’ll be explaining and demonstra ng is the BrailleNote, my computer with a screen reader, braille displays, and Google apps. My TVI Jamie Murdy will be with me to help answer ques ons.

306 (T, E) The Digital Workflow, Part 1: What, Why, and How it Fits into the Academic Classroom Presenter: Ting Siu This workshop will introduce the three Cs of a digital workflow for students in the academic classroom: Capture, Convert, and Cloud. We will discuss the importance of digital media to support the mul sensory needs of students with visual impairments. Discussion about the digital workflow will focus on integra ng the Expanded Core Curricu‐lum (ECC) with the Core Curriculum, and maximizing teachers' work efficiency. Finally, how can you ensure technology is implemented seamlessly into the classroom? Par cipants will learn how to develop effec ve IEP goals that u lize a team approach to integrate students’ technology use throughout instruc onal ac vi es.

307 (E, P) Looking Forward and Looking Back at How ECC Levels the Field Presenter: Sally Garlick What parts of the expanded core curriculum do we emphasize for school and what areas are most useful for mee ng a student's next 50 years? We will explore updated research, look at past assump‐ons and inves gate some actual job requirements.

308 (E) Traveling More Independently Using iPhone Apps Presenter: Mike May There are several apps which can help a blind person more effec vely use public and private transporta on as well as naviga ng on foot and in a vehicle. We will talk about and demonstrate these apps as much as possible without actually going out on the street. These apps include Uber and Ly for booking a ride, NextBus and Routesy Pro for public transporta on, TripIt and airline apps for air trans‐porta on and hotels, Blindsquare for knowing what is around, Seeing Eye GPS for turn‐by‐turn naviga on and People Finder for loca ng friends in a bar.


309 (E) Help Wanted: Seeking VI Teachers Presenter: Sheryl Schmidt Let's put our brains to work and figure out some cre‐a ve ways to get future VI teachers interested in our profession. Let's wake up the state, universi es, and districts to understand that the need for VI teachers is a growing concern. Our caseloads get larger every year and we cannot meet the ever growing needs of the VI students without addi onal teachers joining our field. Together we can be heard and be success‐ful in leveling the playing field for our students to succeed by having lower caseloads to allow us the me to teach curriculum needs, expanded core, and

technology skills that will prepare our students for the 21st century and beyond.

310 (T, E, P) Get With the Times: Addi on, Subtrac‐on, Mul plica on, Division, and Big Old He y

Equa ons Too! Electronic Math Is Now Accessible Using Screen Readers. Presenters: Michael Parker and Adrian Amandi Our students fall behind in mathema cs. This is due to a variety of reasons but one of them is a lack of accessible content. Join Michael Parker and Adrian Amandi as they share how math content is becom‐ing more and more accessible. MathML is an acces‐sible markup language that presents math and sci‐en fic nota on online and in other applica ons. More importantly, it is easy to access and easy to create. During this workshop we will cover: access‐ing MathML with JAWS, where to find MathML con‐tent, and how to create basic MathML content that is accessible to your screen reading students.

311 (T, E, P) Touching Your Text ‐ Print to Braille in Seconds with Your BrailleNote Touch KNFB Reader Applica on Presenters: Kevin Hughes and Jerry Kuns Blind students, in class, will o en encounter print handout materials. The present access to this mate‐rial may be an OCR scan device that will read the text to them or they may acquire help from a class‐room aide who can then read it to them. They can also wait for transcriber services. Using the KNFB Reader applica on, on the BrailleNote Touch, the student quickly captures text and can read it in braille in seconds using their a ached braille display. This session will demonstrate the steps for this as

well as an efficient way a student can interact with the material.

312 (T, E, P) Department of Rehabilita on/Blind Field Services and the Orienta on Center for the Blind. Presenters: Patricia Leetz, Jessica Groves, Susan Pel‐bath and Bennet Kim Learn what the Department of Rehabilita on/Blind Field Services and the Orienta on Center for the Blind can do to increase employment outcomes for youth who are blind.

Friday, March 10th 3:30 pm—4:30 pm

401 (T, E) Restoring a Gunky Perkins Brailler to Health Presenters: Chester Goodale and Jus n Adams Con nua on of 301

402 (T, E, P) Introduc on to DBT for MAC Presenter: Neal Kuniansky This is an introduc on to the Duxbury Braille Trans‐lator for Macintosh. This will include showing tools useful for crea ng text and math with an overview of many features including embossing, sharing and collabora on files with DBT Win users, and other braille related tasks. This will include use of VoiceO‐ver speech output with DBT and an overview of us‐ing refreshable braille displays with DBT Mac.

403 (T) BEYOND THE WALLS SWING FOR THE FENCES! Transcribing Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts Presenter: Charles Mize This workshop will address the new challenges for math textbook transcrip on created by the adop on of UEB. First, par cipants will determine when the Nemeth switch indicators are needed by iden fying math and technical code expressions in UEB context. Then, par cipa ng transcribers will locate the cor‐rect placement of the switch indicators. Lastly, workshop par cipants will ex‐plore a few odd areas where Nemeth forma ng supersedes braille text‐book forma ng outside of the switch indicators.


A er par cipants iden fy math expressions, demon‐strate the posi oning for the opening and closing Nemeth Code indicators, and iden fy the forma ng hierarchy oddi es, the playing field will be leveled!

404 (E, P) Transi oning to Community College Presenter: Gaeir Dietrich The shi from high school to college can be daun ng for many students. What the high schools and colleges provide and what students are responsible for differ greatly. Preparing students for what to ex‐pect at the college level and sharing a few survival ps can go a long way toward ensuring student suc‐

cess. The California com‐munity colleges (CCCs) can ease the transi on between high school and four‐year college. Come learn what services the commu‐nity colleges offer to BVI students, how to access those services, and how to prepare students to meet the challenge of surviving in the college environ‐ment.

405 (E) UEB FAQs for TVIs Presenters: Lisa Okikawa, Lupe Arellano and Sue Reilly Unified English Braille Frequently Asked Ques ons for Teachers of the Visually Impaired: With so many changes to the braille code from EBAE to UEB, TVIs have many ques ons about the implementa on plan in CA including: what they need to know about UEB, what to teach and a meline in which to teach it; and many more. Join our discussion with two seasoned TVIs and a transcriber to decipher UEB Frequently Asked Ques ons!

406 (T, E) The Digital Workflow, Part 2: The Tools and How it Fits into Teachers' and Students' Toolkit Presenter: Jessica McDowell We will discuss tools needed for a digital workflow including iPads and apps, Google Cloud pla orm and extensions and add‐ons. We will look at the 3 Cs: Capture, Convert, and Cloud. How can you or your students capture worksheets and convert them into accessible digital formats including fillable PDFs or editable text? How can your students use cloud‐based storage and sharing efficiently? The goal of this workshop is to provide specific workflow strate‐gies and “recipes” that can be taught to students and teams. Op ons for younger students as well as middle and high school students will be presented.

407 (E, P) Cerebral Visual Impairment: How Do We Transform What We Know into Effec ve Programs for Students in the Schools? Presenter: Amanda Lueck There are many func onal consequences of cerebral visual impairment (CVI) that impact learning and so‐cial well‐being of children. Provision of high quality school services for children with CVI includes: early and accurate iden fica on and as‐sessment of chil‐dren with CVI; qualifying all children with CVI for ap‐propriate services, including those with normal/near normal acuity; and providing access to and use of appropriate methods, materials, and learning envi‐ronments matched to the needs of individual chil‐dren. These issues are challenging our educa onal systems. Solu ons may differ depending upon avail‐able resources, criteria for en tlement to services, staff availability, and goals in overall strategic plans.

408 (T, E) How Can a 3D Printer Help Visually Impaired Students Presenters: Neal McKenzie and Leslie Edmonds We will go over how a 3D printer can help students with visual impairments. Examples of materials created using a 3D printer will be shown. Discussion includes what materials would be useful, how to work with other IEP team members to develop materials and a brainstorming session on current needs. A brief overview of compa ble so ware and file sharing will be presented.

409 (E) Emerging Accessible Indoor Naviga on Tech‐nologies Presenter: Mike May Through a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, NIDILRR Small Business Innova on and Research, Sendero Group and its extensive team of accessible indoor naviga on specialists (Boni, Blindsquare, indoo.rs, Radius Networks, NFB, and San Francisco LightHouse) will expand upon exis ng outdoor naviga on systems by developing an Acces‐sible Environmental Informa on (AEI) applica on that will provide orienta on and loca on infor‐ma on indoors where GPS is unavailable. The re‐sul ng research and technology from the project to date will be discussed and if available will be demon‐strated.

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410 (E, P) Learn How the New and Innova ve Elec‐tronic Devices Can Help Low Vision Students to Level the Playing Field in the Classroom Presenters: Remy Long and Edward Long Learn how new Wi‐Fi enabled low vision devices can u lize exis ng computers and iPads. See how new distance viewing devices incorporate OCR and Auto‐ma c Foreign Language reading. Learn how portable and desktop electronic magnifica on devices and OCR devices can improve student learning. Discover how head‐worn electronic magnifica on devices can simplify and enhance viewing in the classroom. Pre‐sented by A&E Low Vision Products and Enhanced Vision.

411 (E, P) Conversa on, Connec on, and Outreach Presenters: Yurika Vu, Dr. Sharon Sacks, Stephanie Herlich and Adrian Amandi Come join the CSB Outreach Team for a casual con‐versa on about CSB’s many outreach programs. This is a great opportunity to ask ques ons and provide sugges ons.

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SFSU Meet and Greet – Bayside II Friday, 3:30 pm ‐ 5:00 pm

The SFSU programs in Visual Impairment and Orienta on & Mobility invite alumni, current, and prospec ve students to an a ernoon social. Please stop by and say hello! We'll have light refreshments and exci ng news to share. Twi er: @VIProgramSFSU

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Saturday, March 11th 10:00 am—11:00 am

501 (T) Get Game Ready with MS Word and the Tiger Embosser Presenter: Jon Crawley This workshop is designed for individuals that are beginning to produce tac le graphics and will cover basic knowledge of u lizing MS Word for use on Tiger embosser.

502 (T) From Book to Computer: Scanning and OCR Presenter: Gaeir Dietrich Have you ever wondered if maybe crea ng e‐text from hard copy material might speed up your tran‐scribing job? Have you wanted to scan documents but been unsure how to go about it? Have you tried scanning but been unhappy with the results? Do you run an OCR program on what you’ve scanned and s ll spend hours edi ng? Do you copy and paste from PDF documents but figure there must be a be er way? This workshop will answer all these ques ons and more. We will take you from the ba‐sics of scanning through running op cal character recogni on and crea ng a text document that you can use with your transcrip on program.

503 (E, P) Duxbury for Your Braille‐Using Students Presenter: Jen Goulden This workshop will show you how your students can play an ac ve role in mee ng their own document accessibility needs. An overview of the transcrip on process will be provided: modifying the source file, impor ng into Duxbury, applying styles and working with both print and braille documents. Although an‐yone who is learning to use Duxbury can benefit from this informa on, the focus of the workshop will be on how your students can take advantage of braille transla on so ware to ensure that they have braille whenever they want or need it. Help your students to level the playing field by giving them an‐other tool that they can use to access the same in‐forma on as their peers.

504 (E, P) Technology for Students with Mul ple Dis‐abili es Presenter: Ting Siu Students with mul ple disabili es o en require ex‐tra considera ons to ensure meaningful learning and ac ve par cipa on. In addi on to tradi onal accommoda ons, technology can be used to maxim‐ize students' engagement with peers in the class‐room. This workshop will illustrate how technology can support students' independence in several types of func onal ac vi es including: communica on, literacy, and presen ng informa on to others.


505 (E) Suppor ng Braille Instruc on Through Play: Concept Development to UEB Presenters: Stephanie Herlich and Helene Holman Play and literacy go hand in hand. Why are stringing beads important for a visually impaired child? What is a toddler learning when she is pu ng together a puzzle? What is a kindergartener learning when he is playing “Memory” with a friend? Play is an essen al component to early literacy and can promote litera‐cy throughout educa on. This workshop will demon‐strate a variety of toys and manipula ves that are all paths to literacy. Come play with us and see how to use the Mangold Basic Braille Program Units 1‐3 with an infusion of toys and games that support lit‐eracy and braille instruc on.

506 (E, P) JAWS for the Classroom Presenters: Bob and Sue Sweetman We will present ways in which JAWS can be used to increase student produc vity. We will discuss: com‐mands for reading the screen, using Microso Word, using headings to organize your documents, using Quick Keys to skim through headings, pages and par‐agraphs quickly, using headings to generate a Table of Contents, JAWS ResearchIt, downloading Bookshare books using JAWS, using FS Reader for reading books, introduc on to Learning Ally, intro‐duc on to the Na onal Library Service, using Drop‐box for sharing and backing up documents and re‐cordings, including a demonstra on of Pocket Re‐corder, a new iPhone app from Sweetman Systems.

507 (T, E) New Technology for High‐Volume Braille Produc on Presenter: Niels van Weele The demands on braille produc on centers con nue to grow, while funding dwindles. New technologies need to address the need for easier, less‐costly braille produc on methods. The presenter will demonstrate a new, lower‐cost produc on emboss‐er from INDEX Braille, designed for easier use and maintenance than exis ng devices. The idea is to provide a high‐volume braille embosser that is easy to use and repair so users can install and maintain it independently. Including features like wireless em‐bossing and high‐resolu on tac le graphics, the ma‐chine is designed to meet new demands in the pro‐duc on environment, yet be affordable to purchase and maintain.

508 (E, P) A Laptop, a Screen Reader, a Braille Display, an Embosser, a Braille Note‐Taker, Is That It? How to Determine What is Needed for an Academic Student and Ideas for Weaving in Mul ple Pieces of Technology. Presenters: Adrian Amandi and Greg S lson Students who are on an academic track are finding themselves confronted with curricula that expect use of technology in the classroom and at home. O en mul ple types of technology are needed for students to complete work as assigned and it is typi‐cally up to students, their TVIs, and their parents to figure out the dance steps necessary to learn it all. Some mes there is too much on the table and some mes there is not enough. Join us in a presen‐ta on and discussion regarding iden fying appropri‐ate technology for academic students and how to implement mul ple pieces of technology into stu‐dents’ core and expanded core curriculum.

509 (E, P) They Have a Job! How Did They Do That? Presenter: Anne Ward This is a panel of working adults with visual impair‐ments. They will discuss their paths to employment, and other related topics.

510 (P) So Skills: The Ticket to Employability Presenter: Faith Dunham‐SimsIn terms of employment, it is never too early to start thinking about leveling the playing field for our stu‐dents with vision loss. In this workshop we will dis‐cuss: 1) the factors that contribute to the staggering unemployment rate for those with vision loss (about 64% in 2013) and how to mi gate these barriers; 2) the breadth of so skills and their importance re‐garding employment; and 3) how to foster strong so skills through the ages.

511 (E, P) It's My Life: Self‐Determina on and Social Skills are Essen al Presenter: L. Penny Rosenblum To be a successful adult you need to know where you are going and be able to make decisions for yourself. During this session we will explore ways in which you can support a child with visual impair‐ment in building self‐determina on skills. Through‐out the session, photos and videos will be used to


illustrate key points. The role of families and profes‐sionals will be discussed. Ac vi es that families, TVIs, O&M specialists and others can do with stu‐dents beginning in the preschool years that promote the development of self‐determina on will be high‐lighted.

Saturday, March 11th 11:30 am—12:30 pm

601 (T) Using Braille2000: All "How To" Ques ons Answered and Explained Presenter: Bob Stepp This workshop will present the newest gizmos in Braille2000, things you might find handy. It is also the place to have your most puzzling ques ons answered. Ques ons will be taken from the au‐dience but you can also submit your ques ons in advance to [email protected]. Every ques on submi ed by e‐mail will be answered either in the workshop or in the workshop handout.

602 (T, E) Step Up Your Game with Drawings U lizing MS Word for the Tiger Embosser Presenter: Jon Crawley This workshop will focus on technical mathema cal drawings, i.e., Cartesian graphs, shapes with label placements, and angle drawings.

603 (T) Begin at the Beginning Presenter: Cindi Laurent This Braille Formats workshop will review the tle pages and preliminary pages for transcribing text‐books. We will look at various ways of doing table of contents as well as review other items that occur in the preliminary pages.

604 (E, P) Comprehensive Sexuality Educa on in California for Grades 7 and Up: It’s Now the Law Presenter: Maurice Belote The California Healthy Youth Act mandates sexuality educa on in California for students from 7th grade and above. Instruc on must be age‐appropriate, medically accurate, and free of bias. The law also states that instruc on and materials shall be accessible to pupils with disabili es, includ‐ing provision of modified curricula, materials and instruc on in alterna ve formats, and auxiliary aids.

Instruc on in younger grades is op onal but must meet the same rigorous standards. This session will answer your ques ons about mee ng the require‐ments of the law and will also include strategies for mee ng the needs of students who are blind, visually impaired, and dea lind.

605 (E, P) How Assis ve Technology Empowers Me: Student Panel Presenters: Joe Vona, Veronica Gunn, Yurika Vu, and Student Panel Have you ever wondered how students are using their assis ve technology? If so, then we have the session for you! This session demonstrates how as‐sis ve technology empowers the lives of three CSB students allowing them to be more independent and successful in their daily lives, both in and out of their classrooms. The panel will consist of students with varying degrees of vision and demonstrate various forms of assis ve technology.

606 (T, E, P) Keys to Success for Students with Low Vision Presenter: Bill Takeshita This workshop will inform parents, students, and teachers about various strategies to help students with low vision to succeed at school and in life. O en children and young adults with low vision have low self‐esteem and may not understand that people with low vision can be very successful. Dr. Takeshita will share specific strategies to help students learn how to ask for support and acquire the skills they need for success.

607 (E) Teaching Computer Programming to Stu‐dents with Blindness or Visual Impairments Presenters: Radhika Grover and Komal Shirore The market is flooded with applica ons to teach computer programming to students; however, these applica ons are designed for visual learners, not for learners who have visual impairments. To fill this void, SPEL Technologies has created the first educa‐onal pla orm that is designed for accessibility and

customizable learning. In this workshop, teachers will learn how to use our Python e‐textbook to teach computer programming in their classes to learners who are blind or visually impaired. Topics covered include an introduc on to computer programming,


use of the Loquacious Python editor for wri ng and running programs, and the website accessibility fea‐tures for easier naviga on.

608 (E, P) BrailleNote Touch in the Classroom Presenters: Bob and Sue Sweetman The BrailleNote Touch is a valuable new resource for students. We will discuss: General overview, Word Processing, File Management ‐‐ crea ng folders and moving documents, Connec ng to Wi‐Fi, Se ng up a Google account and email, Downloading apps from the PlayStore, Helpful Applica ons: Simple Dic on‐ary, GoRead and Bookshare, BNT’s Victor Reader app. Google’s Voice Search, Prin ng apps, Math func ons: The math editor, Making correc ons, Displaying and prin ng the document, Sharing Docu‐ments, Using Dropbox and Google Drive for sharing and backing up documents/recordings, including a demon‐stra on of Pocket Recorder, a new iPhone app from Sweetman Systems.

609 (E, P) Talking to Our Children About their Vision: How, Where and When. Presenters: Judith Lesner, Jacob Lesner‐Buxton, Eliza‐beth Philips and Meb Philips How comfortable do you feel about discussing your child's vision with your child? The aim of this work‐shop is to increase parent confidence in being able to have an ongoing conversa on with your child about his/her visual condi on. This conversa on begins when our children are quite young and con‐nues for a long me. This is a very important dis‐

cussion for both parents and children and parents need to be prepared for it.

610 (E, P) Ge ng and Staying in Shape: A Teen’s Guide to Exercise Presenters: Rio Popper and Adrian Amandi Join Rio Popper, a 10th grade blind rower, as she discusses and presents what she has discovered and tried in the world of exercise, sports, health, and ap‐pearance. Rio will discuss accessible vs. inaccessible sports, heart rate monitors and rowing machines. Rio has sugges ons and ideas for staying in shape for those of who do not want to play sports, or want to add to a sports regimen including YouTube chan‐nels that do a good job describing exercises, and how to look up nutri onal informa on in foods such

as sugar, protein, calories, etc. Come to learn; leave mo vated to be healthier!

611 (P) Ideas for Families and Teachers of Young Children for Meaningful Braille Engagement Presenter: L. Penny Rosenblum Preparing children to be engaged and successful braille readers and writers starts long before they are ready to learn what dots make the le er "t." This session will give families and professionals ideas for making braille fun and meaningful for young chil‐dren. Through videos and examples, the presenter will share many ideas that can be done at home, school and in the community. Come with your ideas to share with others! Ample me for discussion will be provided.

612 (P) Taking Risks, Staying Safe Presenters: Be y Henry and Maureen Green Can a parent help a child with visual impairment be‐come independent without taking risks? The short answer is “no.” Even though kitchens threaten with “fire and knives,” traffic intersec ons can be truly dangerous, and it takes pa ent explana on and ex‐tra me to let a child execute a task independently, there are ways to though ully navigate between overprotec on and recklessness. The prac cal and personal joys of achieving competence and inde‐pendence are worth the me and effort. Come learn guidelines and check out tools that can help maximize the gains and minimize the risks.

Saturday, March 11th 12:30 pm—1:30 pm

701 (P) CAPVI Annual General Mee ng Presenter: Anne Ward This is the annual general mee ng of the California Associa on for Parents of Children with Visual Im‐pairments. We will discuss current ac vi es and in‐troduce various members of the Steering Commi ee who happen to be present. Topics to be touched upon include how to join CAPVI, how to advocate for your child with visual impairment, and how to con‐nect with other parents of children with visual impairments.



702 (E) Annual Mee ng of the Southern CA Birth to Five Vision Network and Northern CA Con‐sor um of Infant and Preschool VI Teachers Presenters: Julie Bernas‐Pierce and Diana Dennis The workshop addresses of interest happening in California for Public and Non‐public agencies which provide Early Interven on Services to children who are blind, dea lind or visually impaired throughout the state.


801 (T, E, P) Using Braille2000: Impor ng Source Files, Tips and Tricks Presenter: Bob Stepp This workshop is all about .r files and ways to han‐dle them. Topics will include mul ‐language files (e.g., Spanish and English), managing braille format, handling "stubborn" files, handling page numbers, and handling tables. This is a show‐and‐tell work‐shop (not paced for hands‐on training) however you may bring your laptop if you wish to follow along (ba ery power only.

802 (T, E) Using DBT to Produce UEB Math Presenter: Caryn Navy We will look at the tools DBT 12.1 provides for producing UEB math. Our explora on will include: edi ng in DBT; edi ng in Microso Word together with the BANA template, and the SWIFT Word add‐in from Duxbury, with or without MathType or Word autocorrect math shortcuts with MathType conver‐sion; working with Scien fic Notebook 5.5 and La‐TeX files. We will discuss common UEB math produc‐on ques ons regarding grade one indicators in UEB

math, spaces around signs of comparison, and other issues.

803 (T) Do More with BrailleBlaster: The Transcrip on So ware from APH Presenters: William Freeman and Jayma Hawkins (Con nued in 903) BrailleBlaster is a revolu onary program that brings braille transcrip on into the 21st century. Using the data embedded in NIMAS files, BrailleBlaster does most of the work as soon as

the file is opened. It then has all the tools you need to efficiently finalize the transcrip on. In this work‐shop, we will guide you through using the many new features of BrailleBlaster so you can increase your daily page counts without increasing your effort. We will also answer any ques ons you may have about this new, groundbreaking so ware!

804 (T, E, P) Meet Me at the Intersec on Presenter: Nicole Harris (Con nued in 904) Meet Me at the Intersec on is an interac ve facilitated dialogue created to help par‐cipants address the barriers that come with the

intersec onalites of race, gender, cultural back‐ground, socioeconomic and ci zenship status, and so on. The first half of this workshop is dedicated to why acknowledging intersec onality is important while the second half is a solu on based forum to build a framework that will help par cipants work within diverse se ngs. To be transparent, this class is meant to foster understanding through conversa‐on which at mes might seem difficult but is neces‐

sary to be able to provide par cipants with the help they need.

805 (E, P) Managing the Google Classroom Efficiently With the BrailleNote Touch Presenters: Greg S lson and Yurika Vu Today many school districts are using the Google cloud and apps as their central tools for collabora‐on and submit classwork electronically in the

Google Classroom. Tradi onally access to Google apps and services has been inaccessible. Google has now made great accessibility strides to improve the experience for blind users. The BrailleNote Touch, the world’s first Google cer fied braille tablet, en‐sures these apps and services are both accessible and efficient for immediate use by students who are visually impaired.

806 (E, P) MS Office: Create Dynamic PowerPoint Presenta ons and Advanced Excel Spreadsheets Eas‐ily with JAWS/NVDA Presenters: Arif Syed and Rachel Feinberg Learn how to create a professional looking Power‐Point presenta on and how Excel can be used to track finances and manage a budget using a screen reader. We'll show you how to add sounds, anima‐


ons, designs, and descrip ve images to a Power‐Point presenta on. In addi on, we'll demonstrate how easy it is to create a check register in Excel and link it to a budget on a separate spreadsheet.

807 (T, E, P) Incorpora ng the Use of Ultra Portable and Wearable, Low Vision Technology in the Class‐room. Presenter: Cory Hanosh The past two years has seen a tremendous amount of advancement in low vision technology for stu‐dents. With the introduc on of the Revolu on and Revo2Go, to the introduc on of the Prodigi Connect and NuEyes Glasses, desk space, func onality, and normalcy have become more of a reality for low vi‐sion students looking to fit into mainstream classes. Now, how do you choose the right product for stu‐dents and how do you inte‐grate that technology into their day? This work‐shop gives the par cipants a solid overview of the latest technology and tech‐niques to integrate it into their students’ daily ac vi‐es.

808 (T, E, P) Eat Your Frog Presenter: Ramona Mclaughlin There’s just never enough me in a day! Do you ever feel that way? I am going to share with you effec ve methods that will help you master the art of selec‐ve procras na on. Get more done in less me.

809 (E, P) Independence: Sort of... Presenters: Gabrielle Cohen and Stephanie Herlich Independence: Sort of... "My child showers by her‐self...except for adjus ng the water, holding the soap, applying shampoo, rinsing thoroughly, turning off the water, reaching for the towel, drying herself, hanging the towel, ge ng dressed, and coming her hair." Without becoming a behaviorist, you can ben‐efit from behavioral techniques to support small and important steps towards real independence in ac vi‐es such as grooming, cooking, and travel.

810 (E, P) Sex‐Posi vity: What You Should Know Presenter: Laura MillarNaviga ng sensi ve conversa ons around sexuality can pose unique sets of challenges for people who are blind or low vision, their family members, and the professionals that serve them. This workshop introduces what it means to be a sex‐posi ve parent

and/or educator and the importance of adop ng a sex‐posi ve approach when working with blind and low vision youth. The workshop will address com‐mon misconcep ons and fears that parents and ed‐ucators o en have, as well as provide parents and educators with prac cal approaches and strategies on how to integrate sex‐posi ve messages into their everyday interac ons to help youth make healthy sexual decisions.

811 (E, P) First Jobs ‐ The Role of Enchanted Hills Camp Presenters: Tony Fletcher and Debbie Bacon Blind and low vision students of all ages are looking for jobs. Learn about summer and year round em‐ployment and training opportuni es at Enchanted Hills Camp based in Napa CA. Enchant‐ed Hills Camp was founded in 1950 by Dr. Rose Resnick and now serves as a principal program of the LightHouse for the Blind headquartered in San Francisco.

812 (E, P) Wow, That Sounds Familiar: Parent‐Child Playgroups to Train, Support, and Build Connec on Presenter: Julie Maier This presenta on examines the components and results of a three‐year collabora ve project between California Dea lind Services and a local early inter‐ven on program to implement biweekly playgroup mee ngs with parents and their children with dea lindness. Training, modeling and support was provided to a diverse group of families with children with unique developmental profiles and support needs in an environment that allowed for discus‐sion, demonstra on and prac ce of new skills, and shared support among parents. Details about the playgroup sessions, meaningful outcomes, and sug‐ges ons for implemen ng similar training and sup‐port opportuni es for families of children with com‐plex support needs will be shared.



901 (T, E) The Language of Lines: The Design and Use of Tac le Graphics Presenters: BJ Epstein and Greg Kehret In addi on to braille and computer literacy, students need a firm founda on in tac le literacy. There is a great need for a general tac le literacy curriculum with suppor ng tac le graphics training materials. We will cover what works and what does not with tac le graphics, and briefly talk about how to read, comprehend, and create graphical informa on using the language of lines. We will show good and bad examples, and introduce par cipants to resources where they can learn more.

902 (T, E) Using DBT to Produce Braille Math As Nemeth Code in UEB Context Presenter: Caryn Navy We will look at the tools DBT 12.1 provides for pro‐ducing braille that follows the rules for Nemeth Code in UEB context. Our explora on will include: edi ng in DBT; edi ng in Microso Word, with or without MathType, together with the BANA tem‐plate, and the SWIFT Word add‐in from Duxbury; working with Scien fic Notebook 5.5 and LaTeX files. We will learn how to get the start and end Nemeth indicators where they belong in braille and avoid ge ng them in other places.

903 (T) Do More with BrailleBlaster: The Trans‐ crip‐on So ware from APH

Presenter: William Freeman and Jayma Hawkins Con nua on of 803

904 (T, E, P) Meet Me at the Intersec on Presenter: Nicole Harris Con nua on of 804

905 (E, P) Touching The Future of Electronic Braille Math – The BrailleNote Touch in the Math Class‐room Presenters: Greg S lson and Stephanie Herlich It is known that students with visual impairments have tradi onally struggled in STEM courses. Blind students who do their math assignments using math

braille codes o en have convoluted processes to have their assignments provided to their sighted teachers, o en resul ng in feedback delays. The BrailleNote Touch and its KeyMath app levels the playing field in the math class, empowering students with the ability to complete their math assignments independently, while providing a print version for the sighted teacher. A endees will see this incredi‐ble solu on in ac on and learn how simple it is to get students using KeyMath for their assignments.

906 (T, E, P) Fast, Easy Reading Solu ons for People with Print Disabili es Presenter: Chris ne Jones Learn about Bookshare, a library of accessible ebooks for people with print disabili es. Members access more than 500,000 tles and read in ways that work for them. They can hear text read aloud, follow along with highlighted text, or read in braille or large font on computers, Chromebooks, smart‐phones, tablets, and assis ve technology devices. See how Bookshare is easier than ever, from signup to effortless reading. Funded by the Office of Special Educa on Programs, U.S. Department of Educa on, Bookshare is free for all qualified U.S. students. Peo‐ple with qualifying disabili es who are not students pay a low annual fee.

907 (E) Self‐Advocacy Instruc on: Why It Is Important Presenter: Jus n Steinberg This workshop will go over the concepts of self‐determina on and self‐advocacy, why it's im‐ portant for students with visual impairments and at what grade levels the skill is par cularly important.

908 (T, E, P) Excellence, Entertainment, and Employment: LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired Youth Programs Presenters: Richie Flores, James Gump and Panel Blind kids and young adults can accomplish all the same tasks as their sighted peers! Ge ng through school, having a social life and finding a good job are all possible. Our LightHouse Youth Programs can help accomplish these goals and dreams. Our fun and dynamic programs encourage crea vity and am‐bi on in our blind and low vision students by offering enjoyable and prac cal experiences and posi ve role modeling.


909 ‐ CANCELLED

910—CANCELLED

911 (P) Mentor Connec ons and Career Explora‐ on: A Hands on approach to Transi on for Blind Stu‐dents. Presenters: Richard Rueda and Greg DeWall Through their new CareersPLUS Youth Program, So‐ciety for the Blind of Sacramento has begun to offer mentor and career readiness and employment fo‐cused programming. Fostering the advancement of blind high school students from school to learning useful skills to thrive in university life and ul mately the world of work, presenters will unveil tools, ps and tricks of the trade in keeping students mo vat‐ed and engaged in this cri cal transi on stage of life. An overview of programs and services offered along with a handout of resources will be distributed. Stu‐dents, parents, teachers and support systems are encouraged to a end.

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conference pictures

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Available in print, e-book, and online subscription.

T H I R D E D I T I O N

M. Cay Holbrook, Cheryl Kamei-Hannan, Tessa McCarthy, Editors

VOLUME IHistory and Theory of Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments

VOLUME IIInstructional Strategies for Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments

This highly anticipated third edition of the essential textbook in the field of blindness and visual impairment education has been completely revised and updated for the 21st century and includes the latest information and best practices.

NEW with the third edition of Foundations of Education is an exclusive, web-based Learning Center that enriches this textbook as never before. Icons located throughout both volumes direct readers to online audio introductions, chapter reviews, learning activities, videos, resource lists, and downloadable forms.

Volume I, History and Theory of Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, includes a whole new set of chapters that provide additional perspectives on the educational system and focus on crucial topics that connect the education of students with visual impairments to the broader context of educational theory.

Volume II, Instructional Strategies for Teaching Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, contains additional material on planning instruction, moving from assessment to instruction, and supporting students with visual impairments in the general education classroom.Instructional strategies are also highlighted, with chapters dedicated to each area of the core and expanded core curriculum.

ORDER NOW!www.afb.org/store 1-800-232-3044

FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION


Conference All-Star Team Roster

Cris n Lockwood is the President of CTEBVI. She is a third genera on Cer fied Braille

Transcriber, following in the footsteps of her grandmother, Peggy Schuetz, and aunt,

Vanessa Stenz. She currently resides in Edmond, Oklahoma with her husband, Mike, and

their four children. Cris n grew up in California and graduated from UC Davis with a BA in

psychology. She also serves on the board of Transcribing Mariners.

Maureen Reardon, Vice President, is a na ve Californian, whose primary home has been

the San Francisco Bay Area. With twenty five years direct experience in the field of visual

impairment, and fi een years of prac cing law, she is now re red. She enjoys theater,

travel, and the freedom afforded by re rement. She is proud of her long affilia on with

CTEBVI, and looks forward to another successful conference.

Sue Reilly joined CTEBVI (CTEVH) in 1984 and has served on the board of directors and

conference commi ees in many capaci es since 1986, including JOURNAL editor for elev‐

en years; president of CTEBVI from 1994 to 1996; and CTEBVI representa ve to BANA for

seventeen years. In 2002 she received the CTEBVI Dis nguished Member award. Sue

received her cer fica on in literary braille transcrip on from the Library of Congress in

1986. Her career was spent in the San Diego Unified School District, un l her re rement in

2009. She con nues to stay ac ve in both CTEBVI and BANA. Currently she is the CTEBVI Secretary and con‐

ference workshop co‐chair, and serves as BANA’s Administra ve Assistant.

Sharon Anderson has been Treasurer for CTEBVI since 2006. In 1985, she began working

as an aide for the Garden Grove Unified School District in California. Sharon has been their

transcriber since 1996.

Lupe Arellano is a TVI with the Foothill SELPA in Glendale, CA. She also works with the

Therapeu c Living Centers for the Blind (TLC) as a consultant for their Day and Residen al

Services programs. Lupe started her career in the VI field with Junior Blind of America’s

Infant Program.

Judi Biller re red recently a er 25 years as a transcriber for Oceanside USD and San Die‐

go COE. She is CTEBVI Membership Chair, Gi s & Tributes Chair, Workshop Co‐Chair, and

incoming Secretary. She currently works the front desk at an acupuncture clinic and

volunteers for Canine Companions for Independence and for the California Welcome

Center. Judi also keeps busy with her two grown children and six grandchildren and many

grand‐dogs.


Tracy Gaines is the immediate

past president and current CTEBVI

BANA representa ve. A er work‐

ing for Braille Ins tute as a tran‐

scriber, she now works as an

independent transcriber.

Vicki Garre became a Cer fied

Braille Transcriber a er working

most of her career as an Execu ve

Assistant, Office Manager and

star ng an accoun ng home

business. Vicki is a former board

member. In addi on to her du es as

conference registrar, she is also the CTEBVI website

administrator.

Bonnie Grimm is a Cer fied

Braille Transcriber working for

Clovis Unified School District. She

is a Past President of CTEBVI.

Bonnie has been the Exhibits

Chair along with her daughter,

Jenny Tsimogianis, for the past nine years.

Dawn Gross is a UEB and Nemeth

Braille cer fied transcriber and

mother of three children. Her eld‐

est is a blind high school sopho‐

more. Ms. Gross is currently the

Braille Program Manager at the

Alternate Text Produc on Center (ATPC) providing

accessible materials in braille for the California Com‐

munity College Districts and other clients. She also

serves as the ATPC representa ve to the Braille Au‐

thority of North America.

Dr. Sunggye Hong is associate professor of the de‐

partment of disability and psychoeduca onal studies

and the program coordinator of the visual impair‐

ments teacher training program at the University of

Arizona. He received both his master’s and doctoral

degrees from the University of Arizona in Special

Educa on/Educa on of Students with Visual Impair‐

ments. He took a faculty posi on in the Department

of Special Educa on at San Francisco State Universi‐

ty where he served as a coordinator of the visual

impairment program. He has conducted research in

the areas of braille reading, assis ve technology,

and expanded core curriculum of students with visu‐

al impairments.

Grant Horrocks was the

Academic Director and Co‐Chair

of the Braille Music Division of

the Southern California Conserv‐

atory of Music through 2013. He

also developed music outreach

programs for special educa on students which con‐

nue today throughout the Los Angeles Unified

School District. He first started presen ng at CTEVH

conferences in the mid 1990’s and began his first

term on the CTEVH Board of Directors in 2002. Dur‐

ing his second term as CTEBVI President in 2010, he

assumed and maintained the posi on of ongoing

conference chair and has since rejoined the Board in

2016.

Lisa Okikawa is a TVI with the

West Orange County Consor um

for Special Educa on in Hun ng‐

ton Beach, CA. She is an advo‐

cate of performing arts educa on

for BVI students and has worked

with Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles) to study

the effects educa onal‐based musical theatre has on

BVI students. Lisa is also the Donna Coffee Youth

Scholarship chairperson and the thumbs behind

CTEBVI’s social media accounts.


Donald Ouimet is Chief Programs

Officer at Junior Blind of America

in Los Angeles. With nearly 40

years of experience in educa on,

specializing with children who are

visually impaired and mul ‐

disabled, He is responsible for oversight and admin‐

istra on of all of the programs of Junior Blind. Prior

to joining Junior Blind, he was the Director of Ore‐

gon School for the Blind, as well as a teacher, pro‐

gram coordinator and an administrator at Maryland

School for the Blind. He has a master's degree in

Special Educa on from the University of Maryland

and completed his vision training at Pennsylvania

College of Optometry.

Jonn Paris‐Salb, M.A., has been

a California Department of

Educa on Consultant for over

10 years; a classroom teacher for

20 years; and a principal for 12

years. Jonn is very experienced

in special educa on, assis ve technology and transi‐

on resources.

Peggy Schuetz is the Director of

Opera ons for Transcribing Mari‐

ners in Auburn, CA. Peggy started

transcribing as a volunteer back in

1982 and now runs the company

with her daughter, Vanessa. Alt‐

hough most famous for her body braille, Peggy also

serves on the board of FPVI at Folsom and Volun‐

teers of Vacaville prison programs.

Wayne Siligo is the Director of

Music at the California School for

the Blind in Fremont, CA. He has

been involved with CTEBVI since

1980 and is s ll par cipa ng in

performances for our

conferences and other ac vi es for state agencies.

Yue‐Ting Siu is a Teacher of the

Visually Impaired (TVI) and assis‐

tant professor in the Visual Im‐

pairment Program at San Francis‐

co State University.

Vanessa Stenz is the Produc on

Manager at Transcribing

Mariners. Vanessa is in charge of

the Conference Registra on desk.

She also serves on the board of

the Folsom and Vacaville prison

braille programs.

Karen Tomlinson is currently a

teacher of the visually impaired

with Los Angeles Unified School

District. Her VI resource room is

at the Nobel CMS in Northridge,

California.

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2017 CTEBVI Conference -March 08 - March 12, 2017Burlingame, CA

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HumanWare develops highly intuitive and intelligent solutions that empower students who are blind or with low

vision by giving them the independence to reach their full potential. Tools like the new BrailleNote Touch, first

and only Google certified braille tablet, and the Prodigi Connect 12, the Android based digital magnifier, allow

blind and visually impaired people live full, productive lives.

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NO L I M I T


58th Annual Conference of

CALIFORNIA

TRANSCRIBERS AND EDUCATORS

FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

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Documents

CTEBVI 2017 Program · 2017. 5. 9. · 4 58th Annual CTEBVI Conference 2017 From the President … O n behalf of the CTEBVI Board of Directors and Conference committee, welcome to